Ranger Games: A Dino Thunder Reunion
by Pink-Green-White-4ever
Summary: FINISHED as of 62804. PRDT but does not go with the show's storyline much. It's an old school Ranger Reunion thanks to the DT Teens and Anton Mercer. Contains mostly TKness
1. Default Chapter

I've been writing fanfics for years, but this is my first Power Ranger fic. Please, be kind.

I don't own Power Rangers or anything associated with them.....though I wouldn't mind knowing JDK a bit more personally and anyone who says he doesn't look just as hot with the short spiky hair as he did with the long hair doesn't know a hottie when they see one!

I haven't watched but five minutes of Power Rangers: Dino Thunder, so I'm taking liberties with this story. You will be seeing some very familiar characters here, ones who are much beloved to me, as I can remember watching MMPR from the START. This is my answer to a lot of questions I use to ask during MMPR and through Turbo, when I stopped watching.

Ranger Games: A Dino Thunder Reunion

Prologue: Mercer's Conference

By Pink-Green-White-4ever

Last Revised: March 19, 2004

Email: pinkgreenwhite4everyahoo.com

Website: see ff.net profile

* * *

He looked at the files spread out before him - some were pictures, some were schematics, some were just type written pages - all of them contained data and information that could ruin the lives of a handful of the world's most powerful people. He felt like GOD himself. 'Or Zordon' he thought with wry humor. It was going to be interesting to see just how far Dr. Thomas Oliver was going to go to save his precious team this time. 

She watched him from her perch on the couch. He'd spent the last six hours of such a bright and sunny Saturday bent over his communicator. "Dr O, can I ask you something?"

She heard him grunt at the interruption, before his head came up and he turned those deep brown eyes on her face. "What Kira?"

"How come you don't have any friends?" She blurted out, watching as one of his eyebrows raised in question. "I mean, you're pretty hot for a teacher and all," she started again, a blush rising on her cheeks. "How come you don't have any friends to spend time with outside of school and...well, you know?"

Dr. Oliver sighed and wiped a hand over his face to try and clear his thoughts. 'That is a very good question?' he thought as he looked at her sitting there. How much could he explain to her without looking like an idiot, or worse, a failure. "I have friends Kira, they just don't live around here." Nice one.

"Don't you ever stay in contact with the others?" Her question sent him for a loop. He knew precisely what she meant by 'Others'.

The thought of the others alone seemed to intensify the deep sadness in him, the ache he'd felt the moment he'd first began to lose them all those years ago. Red, Black and Yellow had been the first to leave...then Pink......his heart shuddered at that thought. God alone knew his one deep dark secret where Pink was concerned - his world had never been the same the minute she'd stepped onto that damned plane for Florida. Then to lose Blue...not to mention the second team he'd had...

"Kira here!" the young woman before him quipped, breaking him from his thoughts. Leave the past alone Oliver, he thought to himself as Conner's strained voice floated over Kira's communicator.

"Yeah, got some Drones down in the park, Ethan and I could use some help."

"Dr. O and I are on our way," Kira spoke. Standing, she and Dr. Oliver morphed and then teleported out of the room.

* * *

He simply wanted to drop. The battle had been fierce, just as fierce as any other one he'd been through, but Kira's comments still lingered with him as he trudged upstairs to his room. His three charges still sat in the living room, their voices filtering up to him still as he shut his door and walked toward his desk. Taking a deep breath, he reached out for the middle drawer, the one that always remained locked when he wasn't home, and skimmed his fingers over the surface. If he did what his heart was urging him to, he'd be reliving feelings and memories that would never go away. And still, Kira's words haunted him. Reaching above the drawer to the shelf, he reached around the frame of the picture of his parents and older brother and grasped the set of keys behind it. 

Selecting the correct one, he inserted it into the lock and then pulled the drawer open. Reaching in, he pulled out a worn, black leather photo album and then walked over to his bed. Carefully, he opened it to the first page, and cursed silently as the tears welled in his eyes at the sight of the picture he found.

They were standing together, all six of them, in what had once been the safest place on Earth, in his opinion. The colors were the same as they'd nearly always been - Red, Blue, Black, Yellow... Pink, and White. Green had long ago been lost. So young then, he thought as he ran a finger tip down her face, so full of hope and love and the meaning of justice.

Turning the page, he laughed through his tears as he caught sight of the two people in the next picture. The young man sitting in the chair had short, cropped brown hair, brown eyes, and the young woman who stood behind him, with her shoulder length caramel colored hair and those doe like eyes that seemed to haunt him no matter what. "Jas, Kim, I miss you so much," he whispered as he turned the next page for the next set of memories.

Other pictures followed, some funny, some goofy, others poignant and sweet. His first date with HER, the first time he and "Jas" had won a competition, sitting at the juice bar during parties, teaching the kids karate, dances, fairs, trying to rebuild the float model for the peace parade. Every picture told a story, every picture held a memory. The faces changed but the feelings stayed the same, they had been a unit, a family, and after everything they'd been through, it had fallen apart. None of them talked with him, in fact the last time he'd seen any of them had been his red predecessor when they'd joined other Red Rangers to scrape Serpentara.

"Guys, I miss you," he whispered as he closed the book and lay back on the bed, eyes closing as more tears trickled in a steady stream down his cheeks.

* * *

Downstairs, Kira continued to pace the living room. "Kira, sit down!" Conner growled, grabbing her arm and dragging her to sit between him and Ethan on the couch.

"I can't help it," she whispered to him. "I keep thinking that there has to be something we can do to help him."

"Maybe he doesn't want our help?" Ethan interjected.

Conner and Kira both looked at him and shook their heads. "I have an idea!" Kira cried as she stood up and moved to the bookshelf that was on the other side of Ethan. Scanning the selections quickly, she cried out in triumph when she found what she was looking for.

"His high school year books?" Ethan questioned as Kira plopped down with four books in her lap.

Opening the oldest of the four, Kira began leafing through it until she found something that she hadn't expected. "Hey look!" Conner pointed out as he and Ethan bent closer to the picture. Standing there, ready for what looked like a Martial Arts contest was Dr. O and three other guys.

"The caption says that's Dr. O, Jason Scott, Zach Taylor, and Billy Cranston," Kira read the tiny print below the picture. "It also says this was for some charity event held at their high school for sick kids."

Conner sat back, thinking carefully. "Never would have pegged Dr. O as being into that kinda stuff," he said, Ethan nodding his head in agreement.

"LOOK!" Kira commented as she pointed to another picture. This time, it was Dr. O, the three guys from before and two girls.

"What's it say?" Ethan asked as he bent forward. "Billy Cranston, Zach Taylor, Trini Kwan, Kimberly Hart, Tommy Oliver, and Jason Scott decorating for the Christmas Dance." Ethan read the caption.

"You think these are the friends he never mentions?" Kira asked.

"If they were his friends, you'd think he'd mention them more often," Conner quipped.

"Guys, look at that picture and tell me you don't notice something peculiar about the six of them," Ethan pointed out as the others stared at the picture.

"Ethan, have you been smoking something?" Conner questioned. "I don't see what there is to notice in the pictures other than Dr. O and his friends."

"You idiot," Kira mumbled as she caught the meaning of Ethan's question. "Does the color of their clothing give away something?"

Conner looked down at the photo again and blinked in surprise. Red, Blue, Black, Yellow, Pink and Green. "No way."

"Remember, he said he wasn't the first one of us," Kira pointed as they began to leaf through the other three books. "Besides, we all saw the video."

It's funny, Kira thought as she stared at some of the latter pictures in Dr. O's senior yearbook. There's a group of them that consistently always hung out together. Ethan had grabbed a pen and a piece of paper a half hour before and they'd written down the names of the people who'd consistently been in pictures with their teacher.

"Alright, let's take it to the web," Ethan commented as he went over and sat down at the desktop computer Dr. O let them use. Immediately, he started typing in names in the people finder.

"Well?" Conner questioned ten minutes later. Ethan had a list of phone numbers as he turned back to his friends.

"It seems Dr. O kept some interesting friends," Ethan started as Kira and Connor raised their eyebrows in question. "All the names on that list are people that got some pull in the world. We've got a Nobel Peace Prize winner, three Goodwill Peace Ambassadors, two world famous Martial Artists, a famed Julliard dancer, a famous conservationist, one of the hottest singers in America, and the world's latest gymnastics sweetheart."

"You're kidding right?"

"Nope. Each of us is gonna take three or four and start making the calls," Ethan started as soon as he saw the look on Kira's face.

* * *

"Long time no see." The voice was familiar, something that in that moment soothed the frazzled nerves of one of the world's most talented athletes more than a long hot bath, a romance novel, and some chocolate ever could.

"Big Brother!" she cried out in shock, hopping off the apparatus she'd been practicing on.

"Little sister," he whispered, pulling her into a tight hug. "The others are on their way. How are you?"

"Tired."

He nodded and watched the worry seep into her eyes. He'd heard it in her voice two days before when she'd called in a freaked out panic about the invitation she'd gotten. "Your hunch was right."

"How many of the others?"

"It seems everyone, all except Tanya and Justin, who I couldn't get in contact with. What do you think it means?"

Shaking her head, she couldn't be sure. "You've heard about what's happening there, haven't you?"

"Yeah. Can't say I'm happy with him for being in the middle of it though," the male started, watching the tears well in her eyes.

"Jas," she whispered. The walls she'd erected around her heart all those years before had started to crack and crumble. "I got a phone call this morning."

"You too?"

"From a girl named Kira," she started, watching his face and the emotions playing across it. "It seems his team is trying to get all of his friends together for a good old fashioned family reunion."

He laughed at her words. "Yeah, I got a call too. And?"

She glared at him. "I'm not ashamed to say that this whole thing scares me beyond belief. First Mercer's invitation, now I'm getting phone calls from a seventeen year old Power Ranger."

He looked at her solemnly, not knowing how to answer her.

* * *

He stood looking out over the downtown district of Reefside, smiling. All but two of his invitations had been returned with a positive for attendance. "Not long now, Oliver, and you're world is gonna come crashing down on you."


	2. Chapter 1 Welcome To Reefside

First of all, my apologies to the PR community, I feel really stupid now. I was surfing around last night after I posted the prologue to this story and JUST NOW discovered that Thuy Trang/Trini Kwan was killed in a car accident a few years ago. I apologize for my insensitivity of not knowing that.

This story is dedicated to her memory, may the power protect her wherever she is now.

I'm working on setting up a page on my sailor moon website account for my power ranger fics...:) Don't know when that'll be up, I'm kinda busy running around doing other things.

So Yeah, Saturday (four days ago), I got up at 6 am because of the major thunder storm going on here and at 8am watched an old episode of Power Rangers Zeo and the new episode of Dino Thunder...then I turned on ABC kids and watched the two episodes of Dino Thunder before that...all I have to say is I wish to GOD I had gotten to see all the episode of Dino Thunder all the way through......Jason David Frank in white is always a welcome sight :)

Yeah, and here I was gonna wait to post this until this weekend, but the fact that I've got 2 reviews for the story within 24 hours boosted my spirits. So here's Chapter 1. Also, more in depth explanation of Kim's problems in Florida will come in the next chapter.

Ranger Games: A Dino Thunder Reunion

Chapter 1: Welcome to Reefside

By Pink-Green-White-4ever

Last Revised: March 23, 2004

Email: see profile

Website: see ff.net profile

* * *

Despite the years that had separated them, each of them felt a sense of relief as they stepped off their flights into the terminal at Reefside Airport. The first four to arrive were Kimberly, Jason, Trini and Zack. They had an hour to kill before any of the others started to arrive, so they wandered from their gate to a small restaurant to grab lunch.

"Kimberly, would you sit still, please?" Zack pleaded with her as she kept moving her feet or hands. Trini and Jason's conversation died down as they watched her twisting her fingers together as she picked at her lunch, a sure sign that she was nervous.

"You're nervous about one of two things, this conference or seeing Tommy again," Jason spoke softly, instantly catching her attention.

"Both. This whole thing with Tommy..." she started, blinking back tears. "Jason, I never gave him a good reason, I lied to him about what happened. You saw what happened the last time I saw him."

Jason nodded. He could remember the scene all too well. When the others had gained their Turbo Powers, he and Kim had been turned against them by Divatox. And at the martial arts competition afterward, Tommy had been so wrapped up in Kat that Kim had excused herself from the room and never come back. He hadn't noticed she was gone until Tommy had asked where she was cause he wanted to talk to her. Shaking his head, Jason watched the tears slip down her cheeks. "I think if you really sit him down and explain what happened when you left for Florida, he'll understand. Tommy's always had a soft spot for you Kim."

"Jason, get real!" Zack quipped, getting strange looks from the others. "Tommy's been in love with you since the moment he met you," Zack spoke earnestly. "Even a blind man could see it. So you made a few mistakes. You were sixteen, you were scared, and after what happened in Florida, no one can hold it against you for breaking it off with him."

"Here comes Billy," Trini interrupted when she pointed out the former Blue Ranger approaching. He was dressed down in a pair of blue jeans, a blue polo, and blue Nike's.

When he saw them, Billy waved and started jogging over. "Long time no see," he quipped as the group stood to greet him. Zack gave him a hug, as did Jason, while both Kim and Trini pecked kisses on his cheek.

"So, here I was thinking you'd gone off to Aquitar for good, and all of a sudden you're back," Jason pointed out as Billy started laughing.

"Jas, I missed home, missed my family, my friends," Billy spoke genuinely, his eyes shining with what might have been tears, as he sat down between Zack and Trini. "Things didn't work out the way I had expected. I was just lucky enough the Rangers there could get me home in one piece."

As he and Jason continued on with news from the other rangers, Billy noticed the looks Trini and Zack kept giving Kimberly, his mind automatically registering why they were giving her those long looks - Tommy. "So does he know we're coming?"

"No. I talked to the girl that called, Kira, said she and her two friends were doing it as a surprise," Jason said as Billy nodded.

"It'll be some surprise alright," Billy murmured as Kimberly's head snapped up. "How you holding up?" he whispered as she gave him a shaky smile.

"About as well as I look at the moment," she whispered, then screeched when a pair of hands covered her eyes.

"Surprise!" the voice retorted, causing Kim to start laughing as she stood up and spun around. Instantly, her arms were thrown around Rocky's neck.

"ROCKY!" she gushed as she hugged him.

"Hey Beaut..." he stopped his greeting mid sentence, cursing himself when Kim's eyes filled again. "Damn Kim, I'm sorry."

She pulled back and waved it off. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna break."

"No, but you look like you're gonna drown with all those tears in your eyes," a new voice started in concern. The entire group turned and found Adam, Katherine, and Aisha standing behind Rocky.

"So, someone want to explain what the heck is going on?" Aisha quipped as she pushed Rocky aside so she could hug Kim.

Shaking their heads, Zack and Trini shrugged. Jason sighed. "You're about as informed as we are at this point."

"Tommy's not going to be very happy to see us unexpectedly," Kat started as Rocky nodded. "You know how much he just loves surprises." The slight sarcastic tone of her voice had the others wincing.

Billy's eyes kept switching between Kim and Kat, wondering when exactly the cat-fight was gonna begin. Kim saw the look on his face and decided he should know. "Billy, Kat knows the truth about what happened."

Kim's words silenced the group. It had been something on each of their minds when news of Kim's attendance had spread. "She's right, I do know," Kat whispered as she moved forward and leaned down to hug her friend. "How you holding up?"

Kim's smile was the first genuine one Jason had seen on her face since they'd boarded the plane in Florida. "Better now that you guys are here."

"Excuse me, but are you here for Mr. Mercer's conference?" a man asked as he approached the group.

The girls all looked at him, startled, as the guys all suddenly took a defensive stance. It had been years since they'd been Rangers, but the quick reflexes and heightened senses still worked. "And you are?" Rocky questioned. He moved to block this man from Kim and Kat, who were standing and sitting behind him.

"I'm your driver, Alexi," the man started as he held out a business card to Rocky, who tentatively took it and looked at it before passing it to Billy, who had come to stand with him.

"It's legit," Billy murmured as Rocky took and handed it back to the man.

The driver stood before them and smiled. He could see now why Mr. Mercer had warned him about this group. Even without their powers, they looked dangerous when grouped together. "If you'll follow me, the limos are waiting outside to take you to your hotel."

Slowly, Jason laid down some money for the meal that they'd had before he and the others rose from the table, grabbed their bags, and followed Alexi to the front of the airport. When they stepped outside, two black stretch limos waited for them. Another driver stepped forward and helped half the group into one limo while Alexi helped the other half of the group into the other limo. Once everyone was settled, Alexi and the other driver started for the hotel.

* * *

"Did they say why they didn't want us picking them up?" Conner questioned as he, Kira, and Ethan ran along a trail through the park.

"Other than it being a school day and Dr. O killing us for missing, nope," Kira laughed as the three slowed their pace and then stopped.

"I talked to Ms. Kwan and she said that they had something else to do when they arrived," Ethan huffed as he grabbed his water bottle from his belt. "Something that had come up before our little surprise party."

Conner and Kira nodded. Conner frowned a few moments later as Kira and Ethan kept trying to squirt water at one another. "Guys, what kind of business could they have in Reefside other than seeing Dr. O? I mean, when I talked to DeSantos, Hilliard and Campbell, they said they'd never heard of Reefside until recently."

Both Kira and Ethan suddenly went quiet. Conner had a point. "You think something else is going on?" Ethan asked.

"I'd say Conner's got a bad feeling about it," Kira started, watching Conner's face. "And now so do I."

"I've got Mr. Scott's cell number," Ethan started. "We could call and make sure they got in ok and if everything is going alright." At Kira and Conner's nod, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his own cell phone and dialed the number he'd memorized a few days before.

* * *

Jason was startled when his cell phone rang on the ride to the hotel. Reaching over Trini, he grabbed his backpack, opened it and pulled his cell out. Shushing everyone, he answered. "Jason here."

The others immediately started paying attention as he talked with whoever had called him. "Yes Ethan, everything's fine. We've got a meeting to go to downtown later this afternoon and then we'll meet you guys at the park tomorrow to plan this surprise visit." Kim and Trini smiled, appreciative that Tommy's new team was worried about them. "No, that's fine. Yeah, you can call me here anytime. Right. See you tomorrow."

"So?" Zack asked as Jason shut off his phone.

"They were concerned when they realized Trini had told them we had a meeting to attend to, because they didn't understand how we had other business when none of us have been to Reefside before." All eyes turned to Trini who blushed.

"Sorry."

The conversation abruptly ceased when the limo stopped. Alexi opened the door for the group, and helped them out. Once they were out of the limo, they all looked up and gasped as they saw the hotel where they were staying. "Wow, looks like Mr. Mercer spared no expense for this," Trini commented as they grabbed their bags and headed in.

* * *

"Where have you guys been all afternoon?" Dr. Oliver asked as the three teens entered his living room.

"We went for a jog in the park," Ethan smiled at him.

Dr. Oliver eyed them curiously. He hadn't known them long, but he knew when the three of them were up to something. "Yeah, Kira thought it'd been a good idea if we trained for a while since we skipped out on it yesterday," Conner spoke up, covering for them.

"Okay."

"Dr. O, could I ask you something?" Kira started, watching her teacher give her the LOOK. Lately whenever she asked him if she could ask him a question, she brought up his past.

"What?"

"Do you have something we could munch on before we start, we're starving!" she giggled as he blinked at her in surprise. Shaking his head, he motioned for them to follow him into the kitchen.

* * *

"It must be something in the water in Angel Grove, that would produce such a group."

The words washed over the group of nine as they entered the small ballroom of their hotel an hour later. A man, approximately in his mid forties, with slightly graying hair and a sharp gray business suit stood before them, surrounded by body guards and a woman they could only guess was his assistant.

"You must be Dr. Mercer," Billy started as the man nodded.

"Indeed I am, Dr. Cranston. Welcome to Reefside," Mercer spoke as the group started to tense.

Kim, Aisha, Trini and Kat stepped closer to one another as the guys unconsciously grouped around them. "I don't like this," Kim whispered as the other three girls nodded in unison.

"I assure you, Ms. Hart, you have nothing to worry about," he spoke again, watching as Kimberly's eyebrow raised in question. "You, most of all, have nothing to worry about."

Instinctively, Jason and Rocky moved to almost flank Kim. "Jason," Rocky spoke, watching as Jason nodded when he caught the tone of Rocky's voice.

"Dr. Mercer, why did you invite us here?" Jason questioned. Mercer simply stared at them. He could see that even after all these years, they still looked to the ex-Red Ranger for leadership. He smiled slightly. They may have been powerful as Rangers, but they obviously weren't very smart.

"For the same reason young Kira beckoned you here," Mercer spoke, watching as the group tensed even more. "It suddenly came to me that Dr. Oliver would probably love to see his best friends," Mercer paused. "And teammates again."

Aisha gulped when Kat whispered, "He knows." The others were silent and trying not to show their emotions. And they succeeded, all except Kimberly. Instantly her anger ignited when she realized exactly what Mercer was insinuating.

"Leave Tommy out of this," Kimberly growled, surprising her friends while only making Mercer's smile grow.

"Retract your claws, my beautiful firebird," Mercer spoke elegantly, watching as several pairs of eyes narrowed at him. "Or should I call you a crane? Your white tiger is perfectly safe. However, whether or not he stays that way depends on you."

Mercer laughed internally when he saw Kim's face pale. Oh yes, he could use the feelings he saw raging across her face to his advantage. Despite what he knew had happened between Oliver and this beautiful young woman, she still held deep feelings for Oliver, ones she couldn't hide at the moment. "You haven't begun to see my claws yet," Kim's voice came out in a deadly whisper, one that had Adam, Zack, and all three of the other girls looking at her in shock.

"Look," Jason started before he was cut off.

"No, Mr. Scott, you look. I am in control here. Now, I'd appreciate all of you meeting me for dinner tomorrow night, seven o'clock, at my home," Mercer started as the group gave him the 'you have to be kidding' look. "You may bring Dr. Oliver and his charges, as I know you'll be meeting with them tomorrow. Alexi will take you where you need to go, you're dismissed."

'Dismissed!?' the group thought at once, watching the man before them as he turned to say something to his assistant. "And if we refuse?" Rocky asked.

"You won't," Mercer spoke confidently. "You care far too much for Dr. Oliver and his charges, to anger me."

* * *

"Kim?" Kat asked an hour later as the group walked through the park, where they were supposed to be meeting up with the new team. Jason had made a phone call to Ethan shortly after they left the hotel to bump it up to later in the afternoon instead of the next day. Kim had stayed at the back of the group, her attention and focus on the meeting from earlier. "Kimberly?" Kat's voice pulled Kim from her thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"Are you alright?" Kat's Australian lilt came through as concern laced her voice. She could see the heaviness that weighed on Kimberly after the meeting with Mercer.

Shaking her head, Kim stopped, as did Kat, and let the others get a bit further away. "No. We shouldn't have come here, I shouldn't have come here," Kim started as Kat watched her crumble. "I'm putting him in more danger than he already is."

"Kimberly," Kat started, her gaze going from Kim, to the others, and back. "Tommy was a Ranger, three years he was a ranger. He's always been in danger, but he knows how to take care of himself. He'd be the first person to point that out."

"Kat, I hurt him so bad all those years ago," Kim sobbed softly as Kat's hands reached out and grabbed hers. "I couldn't stand knowing that my presence here is going to hurt him again."

"Kimberly, if anything, your presence is going to harden his resolve to fight Mercer, and the villains the new team must face." Before Kim could say anything, the others were shouting out in alarm. Kim and Kat blinked in surprise as they were suddenly surrounded by what could only be described as a mix between a putty and a cog.

"WHOA!" Kim screeched as one slashed at her and Kat, who jumped back to avoid the hit.

"Kimberly!"

"Kat!"

The two girls hit the ground, hard, and looked at one another before nodding. They knew exactly what they had to do.

* * *

"What do you think is keeping them?" Kira asked as she, Conner and Ethan sat on the swing set at the designated meeting spot.

Conner shrugged and Ethan sighed. Before either of them, or Kira, could say anything, they heard the noise of what sounded like a fight coming from the other side of the hill behind them. "You don't think that's what I think it is, do you?" Conner asked as he, Kira and Ethan jumped off the swings.

"I'd bet a hundred bucks they're getting attacked," Kira whispered as they nodded to one another and took off. As the trio crested the hill they saw something they had only seen once before, with Dr. Oliver - civilians fighting Tyrano-drones with next to no problems.

"I'll be damned," Conner chuckled in awe as he watched the group of nine taking out the Drones.

Ethan simply laughed while Kira shook her head. "Well, they aren't exactly normal civilians." Both Kira and Conner shot Ethan a look and then the three of them ran down the hill to start engaging the Drones.

Meanwhile, the others found that they were making some headway with their attackers, but they also discovered they were seriously out of practice. "Jason!" Rocky called out, jumping to Jason's rescue as a Drone tried to sneak up on him.

"Thanks Rocko!" Jason grunted as he round house kicked the three he was fighting.

"They're here!" Trini gasped as she and Aisha double teamed the Drone in front of them. The others each momentarily looked up to see the three young Rangers coming to help.

Conner leapt into action, tackling the Drones that had backed Kimberly and Katherine together while Kira did a flying kick into the one that Adam, Zack and Billy had been having trouble with and Ethan started assaulting one of the Drones that was gunning for Aisha and Trini.

"Nice of you to join us!" Adam quipped as he hip tossed the thing in front of him.

"Well, couldn't let you have all the fun, could we?" Kira quipped back before she was thrown into Zack. "Sorry."

"No problem." Zack smiled at her. Kira watched him in surprise when he suddenly leapt away from her toward Jason. She watched, even while helping Billy and Adam, as Zack and Kim approached Jason, Rocky, Trini, and Aisha. She and Adam blinked in surprise when they saw the others surrounding Jason, Zack and Kim.

"It's been a long time since they did that," Billy chuckled breathily as he sent out punch after punch. "Watch." The first time this had been done had been shortly after the original rangers first received their powers from Zordon.

Kira and Adam did as told. Zack quickly climbed onto Jason's shoulders, taking a position almost like you'd see someone do if they were playing water volleyball. They watched then as Kimberly wrapped her arms around Zack's outstretched legs and blinked rapidly as Jason began to spin them around, Kim's legs kicking out and connecting with the group of Drones.

"Neat trick," Kira cracked as Adam nodded.

Before long, the group was standing there in shock as the group of Drones disappeared. Zack and Kim hopped down and sank to the ground next to Jason. "They've never done that before," Ethan spoke as everyone grouped around the three sitting on the grass.

"Always a first time," Conner sighed as he and Kat approached. "Guess we should introduce ourselves. I'm Conner."

"Kira."

"Ethan."

The older rangers nodded. Jason was the first to speak up so he introduced the others. "I'm Jason, this is Rocky, Adam, Billy, Kat, Aisha, Trini, Zack and Kimberly." Each person nodded and smiled when Jason introduced them.

"Kira," Kimberly started, catching the Yellow Ranger's attention. "Who's Anton Mercer?"

Kira blinked. She'd only heard that name a handful of times, and usually it was Dr. O cursing the name. "Hayley said that he was the one Dr. O was working with a few years ago when that island exploded."

Total silence reigned over the group as Kira's answer to Kim's question rocked them. "Oh God, Tommy," Kim whispered softly. Kira's eyes narrowed briefly at the way Kim had said Dr. O's first name.

"Why?"

"Remember our meeting, the one we had to go to before this?" Trini asked. The three rangers nodded. "Mercer sent invitations to all of Tommy's former teammates. We met with him about an hour ago."

Kira, Conner and Ethan simply stared at their predecessors.

* * *

"Hayley, did you get a fix on them yet?" the man with short, spiky brown hair asked impatiently as he pushed his glasses up on his nose.

The woman across the room rolled her eyes at him and continued to type in commands to the computer. "Yeah, the park. And they're not alone."

He swung around at the last part of her statement. "What do you mean, not alone?"

"Apparently, they were just fighting a group of drones, but the interesting thing is that they're with nine other people."

"What part of the park?" he asked, grabbing his jacket off the back of his chair as he stood and moved toward the door of the lair.

"Near the playground equipment." Turning she watched him rush out of the room. "Oh Tommy, if you only knew what you're kids have in store for you."

* * *

"You guys did really well," Jason commended the three teenagers as the group sat around on the playground equipment. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end as he watched his friends, and suddenly knew without a doubt what was about to happen. "We've got company."

Turning to look at Jason, the group pondered what he meant. "Tommy." Kim spoke his name so utterly clear that the entire group whirled around when they saw him standing about three feet from the edge of the sandbox.

Through all his years as a ranger, he had managed to keep his anger under the strictest of control. In fact, he could count on one hand the times he'd really been pissed off enough to do some damage, or had felt betrayed the way he did now. There was his CURRENT team sitting with his EX-team. All he could think about was being really upset that the others had come here. "What in the hell is going on?" He scanned the group, noting that most of them were dressed down. The small ripple of shock that coursed through him when he saw the three new rangers in their colors sitting with his friends, all of whom had abandoned their colors for black, white, or khaki, quieted him. For as long as they'd been rangers, they had all worn their colors, it was interesting to see them in anything but.

His brain quickly took role of who was there. His eyes locked on Conner, Kira and Ethan, sending them a look of disapproval before he looked to the others. After seeing all but two of his friends, his eyes landed on the person who'd spoken his name. Before he could even begin to reign in the emotions, he felt his heart simply crack apart at the seams.

"Kim." Several of the elder rangers' eyes widened. Kimberly's name had come from Tommy's lips sounding almost like a prayer, a love laced prayer.

"Uh, surprise," Kira muttered as Tommy's eyes tore away from Kimberly's face and focused on his team.

"SURPRISE?" The three teens winced at the sound of his voice. He'd gone from teammate and mentor to teacher in a split second.

"Not completely our fault though," Ethan started, and had Conner finishing.

"They got invited to go meet Dr. Mercer." If Tommy had been slightly shocked to see his friends, and knew it was because of the new team, he could handle that, but the shock of knowing Mercer had contacted them was almost too much to his system.

It was Kimberly, surprisingly enough, who approached the black and khaki clad Tommy. Her eyes sought his as she stood directly in front of him, urging him to listen to her. "Tommy, he knows."

"Knows what, Kim?" Tommy asked impatiently. Just staring at her was hurting him.

"About us." If Tommy hadn't known better he'd think she was referring to the way they, the two of them, had been. "He knows about THAT too." Now he was floored. Mercer knew about the rangers, the old rangers, and bets were he knew about the new ones too.

"Tommy," Jason started, stepping toward his best friend for the first time since he'd arrived. "He's gunning to pay you back for whatever happened, and us being here is part of how he's going to do it."

"Then leave."

Kim's eyes clenched shut so tightly that Tommy wondered if she was pissed or scared. When they opened again, he watched those doe like bottomless brown eyes he thought he knew so well change colors, which knocked him for a loop. "He's not going to let us leave until he gets what he wants, Tommy, and what he wants is for you to suffer. We have to talk," she finished in a whisper, watching the awareness seep into his eyes.

"I think you said all you had to say a few years ago, Kim." Purposely, he stepped around her to go and see the others. Kimberly continued to stare at the sky and clench her hands into fists to regain control.

"I lied to you, in more ways then one," she spoke, whirling around to face him and the others. God how she wanted to tell him this in private, not in front of their friends or his charges. The look in Tommy's eyes was enough to have her wanting to throw up on the spot. That absolute hatred in his eyes caused her heart to shatter. Not like you weren't expecting it, Kim, she thought to herself.

"I don't want to hear it Kim." He turned to say something to Kat, and found that his other ex was glaring at him. "WHAT?" he defensively asked as Kat stood up from her seat on the edge of the jungle gym's stairs.

"Don't shut her out," Kat whispered as she stepped forward and turned pleading blue eyes on him. "She's got a lot to tell you."

Tommy stared at Kat like she'd grown a second head. "You've already talked with her."

Kat nodded and hoping Kim wouldn't kill her, told him. "Right after we gave up our powers, I ran into her in New York, when I was heading to London for a performance. She told me what happened, and Tommy, if you let her tell you, it'll explain a lot of your questions."

"Who says it's better to know the truth?" he asked as his eyes went to Rocky and Adam, who were sitting on the steps behind Kat, glaring daggers at him. Had all his friends sided with the person who had hurt him, he thought sourly as both Adam and Rocky shook their heads and looked down, not wanting to look at him. Before Kat could answer, Jason was shouting at the other former pink ranger.

"KIM!" the original red ranger hollered as he watched his little sister run as fast as she could from the heartbreaking scene. "DAMMIT TOMMY!" Jason yelled at him, watching the three teenagers sitting in front of him shrink away in fear. "Can you be anymore stupid? You'd think with that PHD you got, you'd have gotten some brains to go along with it."

"Jas," Trini warned as Jason and Tommy moved to stand toe to toe. A familiar noise immediately halted the argument that was coming.

Kira, Conner and Ethan leapt up next to Tommy as he began to speak into his communicator. "Go ahead Hayley."

"You've got trouble about two hundred yards from where you are," Hayley started as her words seemed to send a ripple of shock over the group. "It appears Elsa has shown up and she's got a prisoner."

All hell broke loose as Tommy shot past his charges. "KIMBERLY!"

* * *

"Well, well, look what the cat dragged in." The voice was threatening. Kimberly instantly recognized the tone from her years as the pink ranger; this was not going to be pretty.

She slid to a stop in front of more of those things the group had gone up against earlier and standing in front of them was a woman dressed completely in black. "So, Tommy's heart returns," the biker chick, as Kim referred to her mentally, spat as Kim took several steps backward.

"What do you want with me?"

"I want you dead, but that's neither here nor there. My master has plans for you," Elsa growled as she watched the others running toward them from over the hill behind Kimberly. "Tyrano-drones, keep those Rangers busy!" she screeched as she leapt forward, attempting to clamp a hand around Kimberly's arm.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Kim screamed, dodging the offending hand.

Meanwhile, Tommy ran as fast as his legs would carry him. When her scream ripped through the air and slammed into him, his heart lurched up into his throat. He'd never heard her sound like that, not even with all the battles she'd faced when she'd been a Ranger. "KIM!" he yelled out as he attempted to make his way through the drones to where Elsa had finally managed to get a hold on Kim's arm.

She heard his anguished voice and twisted to see where he was. When she caught sight of him trying to fight his way to her, her mind superimposed a memory of a similar event over it, one where she'd been in pink and he'd been wearing white, and she felt her hope soar a little. If this turned out as good as the memory did, she'd be fine. "TOMMY!" she screamed as she tried to wrench free but couldn't.

The decision to morph was taken completely out of his hands as his heart wouldn't allow him to do any less to get to her. He felt the rush of the power as it dropped over him like a shroud. He could hear the others morph but he blocked it out, his only thought was to get to her.

She was struggling against Elsa's hold, and he could see the streaks of pain filled tears rush down her cheeks. Deciding to leave the drones to the others, he did a super leap over them and landed just behind Elsa, who shrieked in surprise and let Kim go.

As she fell to the ground, Kim looked up at the now transformed Black Ranger in awe and shock. That was the one thing the new team had neglected to tell her and the others - Tommy was no longer just the mentor and teacher - he was a ranger. Green, White, Red and now Black, Kim thought with a jolt. No wonder he'd been wearing the black shirt and tan khakis. "You know, you shouldn't pick on innocent people like that, kinda pisses us Rangers off," the Black Ranger muttered to Elsa who smirked at him. Kim blinked in surprise at the cocky sound of his voice. 'Familiar tone, ain't it?' she asked herself as she backpedaled on the grass.

"And here I thought she was just another memory of old to you, Black Ranger," Elsa spat as the experienced Ranger took a fighting stance in front of her.

"Touch her again, and you won't live to regret it, I promise that." The venom in his voice had Kim shivering. She'd had never, in all the years of knowing Tommy Oliver, EVER heard that tone come from him. He was beyond mad; he was PISSED. 'Do I want to know why?' she thought as she watched the pair in front of her.

Elsa was about to say something when she suddenly got a funny look on her face. Without another word, she and the drones disappeared through a portal, leaving nine very shocked friends staring at the Black Ranger. Shaking his head, the Black Ranger signaled for the others to unmorph. Crouching down, he looked at Kimberly in worry, visually scanning her for more injuries other than her arm. "You ok?" he questioned softly as he scooted closer to her. Kim looked up at him, letting the tears start to well in her eyes. He looked so vulnerable, so concerned about her that she momentarily forgot what had happened on the other side of the hill, until her brain started working again and she remembered the way he'd looked at her before.

"Just peachy. You know me," she waved him off when he reached out to help, and struggled to stand on her own. "I'm used to getting jerked around by the bad guys. I seem to be an especially nice target most of the time." Tommy frowned as he watched her dust herself off. She hadn't been fine when she'd screamed for him, he'd heard the terror in her voice. It had shocked him back a better part of a decade to when she'd last screamed for his help like that. 'When she lost her power coin' he thought absently as they made their way over to the others.

"I'm telling you one thing," Aisha spoke suddenly, breaking the silence. "I am not staying in that hotel, especially if Mercer knows we're there."

The others nodded. "What are we gonna do then?" Trini asked looking from Aisha to the others. "We can't get rooms on such short notice."

"Kira, Conner, Ethan, think you each can keep two of them with you?" Tommy asked suddenly, watching as his young charges nodded. "Good. Then Trini and Aisha are going to go with Kira, Zack and Rocky I want you with Conner, Billy and Adam can go with Ethan and Jason, Kat and Kim can come back to my house with me."

"Hey, what about that stupid dinner tomorrow?" Adam asked suddenly. "Mercer pretty much implied he'd do some wicked things to the new team if we didn't all attend."

"Oh, we aren't going to miss that for the world," Jason said suddenly, catching everyone's attention with his optimistic sounding voice. "I've got a plan, but I need to talk it over with Tommy tonight." That said, the group went to the hotel before they broke off and each went home with whomever they were staying with.

* * *

Kimberly sat in the bathroom upstairs at Tommy's, her eyes filled with tears as she rocked back and forth inside the empty tub. She'd told them she needed to take a minute and they'd let her. Now she sat there, bombarded by memories of the past and wishing to a higher power that she wasn't where she was. 'My apartment is sounding really nice right about now' she sighed to herself. At least there she could be alone.

Tommy had given her a full ten minutes in the bathroom before he'd left Jason and Kat's protests downstairs to seek her out. He stood outside the bathroom, his forehead pressed against the door. He could hear her sobs, could feel the pent up emotions coming from her, and from himself. He clenched his eyes shut, imagining again what it had been like to hear her scream his name, terrified, and to know he'd felt the same way when he'd seen Elsa latch on to her arm. Then there was the shock he'd seen on her face when he'd morphed. Knowing his Kimberly the way he did, he thought before he mentally smacked a hand to his forehead. She isn't MY Kimberly anymore.

She startled him when she opened the door, but he'd surprised the heck out of her, as she hadn't been expecting to see him standing there. "Sorry."

Tommy didn't say anything to her. He simply watched her. Her face, despite that she'd washed it, was red and swollen from crying. Her arms were trembling and he could tell she was struggling to even out her breathing. Wordlessly, he did what he hadn't done in nearly eight years; he pulled her into his arms and held on.

To say Kim was shocked was an understatement. After what had happened at the playground, she hadn't expected this. As the warmth of his embrace seeped into her, the control over her emotions broke, and she started sobbing into his chest.

This was not the Kimberly Hart he knew. The Kim he knew would have...and that's when he realized something more than what had happened this afternoon was getting to her. 'Dumb ass, you use to know her so well, why did it take so long for you to see this?' he asked himself mentally as he tightened his embrace of her.

After a few minutes, her breathing started to calm down, so much so that Tommy felt her start to slip into the realm of sleep. Shaking his head, he bent down and scooped her up, causing her to gasp slightly, before he took her through the door that led into his room.

Making a mental note to see to her comfort, he laid her gently on his bed and pulled the blankets up around her, even as she protested his actions. "You need to sleep," he murmured softly as he sat on the edge and watched her look up at him. There it was again, he noted when her eyes seemed to change colors. The story of what happened to her was going to have to wait. He slid a hand through his short, spiky hair in agitation. He knew nothing normal would cause Kim's eyes to...

"It's a long story, Tommy, one you're not gonna be happy with."

"We'll talk in the morning, go to sleep," he whispered as he watched her drop off. His thoughts immediately went into over drive. 'This should be interesting, my bed is gonna smell like Kim again' he thought with a half grin. He could remember when they'd been dating, she'd usually come over on Friday and Saturdays and they'd spend all day hanging out on his bed listening to music, watching movies, studying. 'Or the all important making out' he laughed to himself as he moved from the bed to the door, taking one last long look at her before he went downstairs.

* * *

"Where's Kim?" Jason asked as Tommy plopped down on the couch next to Katherine, putting her between the two of them.

"Sleeping, I hope," Tommy replied as he let his head lean back and rest on the back of the couch.

Jason bit his lip. Before Tommy had come back down, both he and Kat had decided that after what had happened in the park, whether Kimberly liked it or not, Tommy needed to know what happened to her. "Tommy, we need to talk."

Tommy sighed and then looked over at his friends, who both had serious expressions on their faces. "There's something you need to know," Kat started. "Something all of us and Zordon kept from you about Kim."

The look on his face was about as grim as Jason and Kat had ever seen, giving them the feeling that this wasn't going to be easy. "Kim should be the one telling you this, but after today," Jason started, shaking the 'what ifs' from his mind. "Something happened to Kim when she went to Florida, something none of us knew about until shortly before the incident with Divatox."

When Tommy continued to stare at Jason, Kat picked up. "Do you remember how it felt to have your powers taken from you?" At Tommy's nod, Kat continued. "Multiply that about ten times and you'll know exactly what Kim was going through emotionally." Tommy blinked and wanted to shoot himself. 'Of course she would be upset about what happened' he thought to himself.

"Tommy, it was more then a depression that she went through," Jason interrupted Tommy's thoughts. "Because she had her power coin basically ripped from her so fast, only to give it away to Kat after it was retrieved, it sent her spiraling, mentally, emotionally, but most of all physically. Ninjor literally linked the power coins with the six of you, with your souls."

"I don't understand," Tommy started, confusion evident.

"Before the incident with Divatox, Zordon had finally asked Kimberly to come home, so I went and got her and brought her back to Angel Grove. He and Alpha spent the better part of two days running endless tests," Jason supplied, watching Tommy's face for understanding. "After you got the letter, Zordon told me that he thought something was off with Kimberly, like that wasn't something she would do, and I had to agree with him, it wasn't. That girl loved you entirely too much to suddenly fall in love with some flyboy gymnast. Kim was and is not that shallow."

"What happened?"

"They discovered, after some poking and prodding, that she'd had a mental break down right after the Pan Globals," Jason said, and watched his friend's eyes widen in shock. "What's more, her body was still infused with the power of the morphin grid, still linked to her power coin, and with no way to release it, added onto the fact that by then the power coins were useless, some biological changes started happening."

"Her eyes?" Tommy asked.

Kat and Jason nodded. "That's not all," Kat whispered, watching the horror spread across Tommy's face. Immediately, he turned to stare at the staircase.

"What happened?"

Jason licked his lips in frustration. "Divatox and Maligore. After Kim and I were possessed, whatever was happening to her nearly destroyed her, inside and out. Zordon managed to reverse most of it, but by that time, the damage to both of you was done."

"Why are you telling me this Jason? Why now?" Tommy growled as he turned to face them.

Kat's smile was small. "Because, you needed the truth. There was never another guy, she never cheated on you, never fell in love with another - she was trying to protect you from what was happening to her. She swore each and everyone one of us, with the exception of Tanya and Justin, who don't know, to secrecy about this."

"If she loved me as much as she said she did, she'd have wanted my help."

"What would you have done? Dropped everything to be with her?" Jason asked, watching Tommy wince. "When no one went and visited after Christmas, that's when things in her mind really started changing. Zordon told me if we'd went and seen her, there's a slight chance we might have been able to prevent some of it from happening, but Tommy, you were a ranger, the leader, you had no time between school and that, to help her through what she was going through, and the rest of us didn't know what was going on."

"Is there anymore?"

"Yes," Kat whispered, hating to cause him more pain. "She's still going through changes, hence the changing color of her eyes. Zordon told Jason that he didn't know how long it would take her to recover, that there might be a possibility that she'll never recover."

Tommy sat silently after Katherine finished and tried to digest what she and Jason had just told him. Suddenly, everything that had happened eight years before clicked into place. The letter, the incident with Divatox, the reasons behind Alpha and Zordon never really talking about Kim. His eyes welled when he thought of her going through all of that by herself. Shaking his head, he turned to look at his friends, who were watching him with a mixture of sorrow, love, hope, and understanding.

"What about this bright plan of yours?" Tommy asked Jason a moment later, hoping to change the subject.

"Well, I don't think, first of all, that we should take the Rangers with us. You should come, but we know this is gonna be a trap."

"I won't leave them out of the loop Jason," Tommy firmly explained as Jason nodded.

"I thought you were gonna say that. What we need to do is be ready, for anything. You're going to have to tell us all you know about Mercer." Jason and Kat's eyes widened at the stricken look on Tommy's face.

"I thought he was dead Jas, and I only worked for him for like a year and a half before the accident. He's a completely different person now."

Kat cleared her throat, gaining both boys' attention. "Might I also point out that he's got his eye on our other former pink ranger." Tommy's eyes darkened at that piece of information.

"Excuse me?"

Jason shot Kat a look. "He and Kim got into it this afternoon when we met up with him," Jason started as Kat tried to turn her attention to other things. "He's got something planned, for you more than likely, and Kim let him know in no uncertain terms was he to mess with you."

"How'd she end up the target?" Tommy asked suddenly.

"Her mouth," Jason laughed. "It was kinda funny, and really heartwarming cause it was like the old Kim breaking free. The only problem is, now he's going to use her against you."

"I know someone who might be able to help us," Tommy said as he stood and walked over to grab his phone. He hit the power button and then dialed someone's number. Jason and Kat could barely hear, but knew that someone instantly picked up. "Hayley, I need you to come to my house bright and early tomorrow, we've got a problem."

"Who's Hayley?" Jason asked as Tommy hung up, his face bright red as he turned to look at his friends.

Swallowing, Tommy watched the way his friends looked at him curiously. "My partner in crime," he started, watching Kat's eyebrow shoot up in question. "She helped me create the morhpers."

"Oh."


	3. Chapter 2 Explanations

I'm so happy!!! I've got reviews for this story faster than I expected. Ok, you're probably wondering, why I started with the R rating and changed it, huh?? There were going to be a couple scenes between some of the characters that were a bit...sexual...but they weren't nearly as graphic as I thought they'd be.

And I probably forgot to mention this before, but here are the pairings you are more than likely going to see:

Tommy and Kim ::laughs as she gets the DUH look from the readers::

Jason and Kat ::smiles at how cute they are together::

Trini and Billy ::wonders how many people saw THAT one coming::

Rocky and Aisha ::too perfect, ne?::

Adam and Tanya ::yeah, yeah, I know she isn't in this one, YET (hint hint)::

And as you'll notice, Zack's pretty much left in the dust......but then again, so is Justin ::watches the readers frown about the MIA Justin:: Gee, bets are they might hook up with two of the single ladies in this story ::coughs::

So sue me, I'm pairing them all off.

Also, I'd like to take a moment and thank the following people who reviewed the story so far at FF.net - Lead of fate, sayinjinj7, ChiBi BluEStaR, C2, and Lessa Solarem.

To comment on C2's review, I tried not to push them together so fast, and I hope I didn't, but what happens in this chapter sets the stage for the next and what exactly Tommy's gonna be feeling then.

Thanks all for the reviews!!!

Ranger Games: A Dino Thunder Reunion

Chapter 2: Explanations

By: Pink-Green-White-4ever

Last Revised: March 25, 2004

Email: see profile

Website: see profile

* * *

Tommy sat in the chair in the corner of his room, watching as the figure on the bed slept on in ignorance. He'd left Jason and Kat to their own devices an hour before, simply telling them he was going to check on Kimberly.

He understood now what Kat had meant by Kim was still going through changes. In the hour that he'd sat with her, he watched her levitate off the bed and back, had watched her hair change from caramel brown to blonde to red and back, and he heard her whimpering every so often when something in her dreams upset her.

To say he was having a hard time dealing with it was an understatement. All he really wanted to do was to go back in time and make things right. 'Gee, you've had that thought before, Oliver' he thought to himself, a mental image of the island he had worked on exploding coming to mind.

He was snapped from his thoughts by Kimberly sitting straight up in the bed and screaming, "TOMMY!"

He didn't stop to think, he just dove for her. In an instant, she was wrapped in his arms, head snuggled against his chest, her sobs quieting. He murmured soft words that would be forgotten later on, hoping to comfort her. "I'm right here Kim, it's alright," he whispered, stroking her hair and kissing her temple.

She gasped and struggled to breath. The nightmare had been so real, so terrifying, that waking up with Tommy's arms around her had confused her to the point of frustration. "Tommy?" she squeaked his name softly.

"Yes Beautiful?" he asked softly, watching her eyes widen at the use of her old nickname. The look in his eyes told her everything. He knew her secret.

She started crying then, heart wrenching sobs that stole Tommy's breath and helped reassert that over protectiveness of his where she was concerned. He crushed her closer to him, hoping to help her block out the thoughts that were swirling in her head. "Kim," he whispered, rubbing a hand along her back a few moments later as she calmed down.

"Jason told you, didn't he?" she asked, laying her head against his chest. Somehow, she wasn't all that surprised that Jason would tell him after what had happened that afternoon.

"Yes, and we'll talk about it tomorrow. Right now," Tommy spoke, easing her back onto the bed and tucking the covers around her. "You need to go back to sleep."

"Tommy."

"I'm not going anywhere, lay down and sleep," he murmured, pecking a kiss to her forehead as she closed her eyes and drifted off.

* * *

"Morning sunshine!" Jason quipped as Kimberly walked into the kitchen. She still wore her clothes from the night before, so she looked a little rumpled as she stared at Jason, Kat, Tommy and the other woman in the room.

She had slept soundly after Tommy had tucked her in that last time, but she had still been plagued by bad dreams. Her reaction to Jason's happy mood - a low, guttural growl that had everyone's smiles fading. "Stuff it Jason," she mumbled as she advanced to the table. Tommy and Kat had left a chair open for her between them, so she went to sit, only to be grabbed by Tommy and pulled into his lap, which surprised her.

"You feel any better?" he asked as he hugged her to him. Giving up on trying to sit and get her head together, she shrugged and snuggled closer to him. "Kim?"

"Hmm?"

"Tommy, leave her be, she looks exhausted," the other woman, who Kim didn't know, reprimanded Tommy as she stood to get a cup of orange juice for Kim. "Here ya go."

Tommy watched Kim take the cup and shyly smile at Hayley, until a darkness crossed her features. Almost immediately Kim slipped off his lap and sat in her chair. She looked from Tommy, to Hayley and back, trying to figure out their relationship. All four of the others caught onto her train of thought. "I'm Hayley," the brownish red haired woman spoke softly.

Kim's eyes widened a bit as she nodded. 'Well duh! I'll bet this is his girlfriend' she thought, feeling her heart start to crack. "It's not what you think Kim."

"And just what do you think I'm thinking Dr. Oliver?" Kim asked, her voice harsh. Tommy winced at the sound.

"I'm his co-worker," Hayley started. "I helped him create the morphers that the new rangers are using, among other things." Now that was definitely not what Kim had been expecting. "It's nice to finally meet the girl who's got him wrapped around her little finger."

Kim looked from Hayley to Tommy in shock. Did that mean that they... she wasn't even going to hope for what she knew she'd never be able to have, it was pretty useless. "Beautiful?" Tommy asked softly, watching Kim's eyes well with tears as she looked away from him to Kat and Jason. Reaching over, Tommy's hand found her chin and gently forced her to face him. What he saw broke his heart. His Kim looked so defeated, so vulnerable. "Will you go with me later? I've got a couple of errands to run and then I was thinking of taking a walk along the beach. We need to have that talk."

Kim nodded.

* * *

"Where are Kim and Tommy and who's this?" Rocky asked as the group arrived at Tommy's house.

Hayley smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Rocky," she spoke, watching the former red ranger's face go from shock to confusion.

"Hayley helped Dr. O create our morphers," Conner spoke, watching Rocky stare at Hayley until Aisha whacked him in the stomach.

"Why don't you retract the tongue, Ape Boy," Aisha muttered as Rocky blushed and nodded, before leaning over to peck a kiss to her cheek.

Jason and Kat nodded and everyone settled in on the steps or the porch out front. "Where are they?" Adam asked softly.

"Getting food for all of us then they're going somewhere to talk, and hopefully make things right between them."

Kat's answer seemed to quiet the group until Zack stood in frustration. "Isn't there something we can do besides sit here?" Billy nodded his agreement, as did the others.

"We could train for a while," Trini suggested. Everyone looked around and immediately jumped up and went out into the yard to begin working out.

* * *

"Why didn't you just call and tell me what was going on Kim?" Tommy asked as they sat staring at the ocean before them. They'd been talking for nearly an hour and Kim had told him everything Jason and Kat had, and then some.

"Like Jason said to you last night," she started, bringing up what Tommy had told her. "What were you gonna do, drop everything? Tommy, you had more important things then a mentally unstable former ranger to worry about."

"DAMMIT KIM!" he very nearly yelled as threw the pebbles he'd been holding out into the water. "YOU WERE THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO ME!"

Kim's eyes sparkled with love and sadness and the tears that were welling in their depths. "I know, which was another reason for the letter. All your focus, all your attention needed to be on the battle, not on me."

"But it was on you anyway, cause I spent the better part of year trying to figure out what the hell had happened between us," Tommy pointed out as he watched the tears cascade down her face. He knew he was being harsh and unyielding, but she had to know that what she did to him had been uncalled for.

"If I could go back and change it, I would, but what's done is done!" It was Kim's turn to yell at him, as she stood from her position and paced in front of him. "Tommy, I thought of you every day, every time I saw the news about Angel Grove, every time one of my teammates asked about my life back home. I thought I was dying, and I wanted you to remember me the way I had been instead of the way I was. It's still a miracle to me that I survived through the Pan Globals and then the Olympics, let alone what happened in Murianthas."

He wanted to throw something, to punch something, as he watched her fall apart. Kat had been right, whatever Kim had gone through, it had been ten times worse compared to whatever he'd gone through, losing his powers and losing her combined. He had been allowed to be naïve about what had happened between them, she had had to live with what happened between them every day, knowing that she'd sacrificed both their hearts because she thought she would leave this world permanently. "Where do we go from here?" he asked her, his voice low and strained with emotion. When she looked at him, he saw her answer before she even spoke.

"That's entirely up to you. If you want me to just leave when this is all done, I will," Kim spoke, watching the hurt flash across his face at the thought of her leaving. She had a feeling she already knew what his answer was going to be. "If you want to try and make a go of it again, I'm willing to work on that. I'm leaving the decision up to you this time."

Tommy scrambled to his feet at her final words, his arms immediately going around her. He could feel her shake when he pulled her to him, hugged her close. "I want what was taken from us," he whispered softly, pulling back just far enough to watch her smile. "I know it's not going to be the same this time."

"No, it's gonna be different, better," she whispered.

Tommy moved in closer to her and did what he'd been dying to do for nearly eight years - he kissed her. It wasn't an innocent kiss, it was a passionate one. It conveyed every suppressed emotion that either of them had had in eight years, it conveyed everything they wanted to say and couldn't, everything they felt and couldn't name. "Welcome home," Tommy whispered against her lips, smiling as she giggled, a sound that took him back to the first time he'd kissed her.

"It's good to be home," she poignantly whispered back.

* * *

"Dad, explain to me why you've invited my teacher, his friends, and three of my classmates to dinner?" Trent questioned as he watched his father get ready for this big shindig they were having in a couple of hours.

"It's none of your business Trent," Anton told him, quickly finishing the knot of his tie. "Besides, you won't be staying for dinner. You're to go to your room and stay there. I have some unfinished business to attend to with all of them."

Trent simply watched his father and wondered again how much he had changed since the incident with the exploding island.

* * *

"They're back," Adam called to the others as he, Aisha, Rocky, Zack and Hayley sat on the steps of Tommy's porch. When the jeep pulled up into the driveway, Kim and Tommy looked as their friends congregated on the small porch, watching and waiting for an answer. Tommy smiled at his better half when she giggled.

"They look a little nervous," Kim quipped as the two of them got out of the jeep and began carrying groceries into the house. Neither said a word to the others as they unloaded bags.

"Are you guys gonna stare at us or help?" Tommy rolled his eyes at the others, who immediately recovered and began to help him and Kim unload.

After the groceries were unpacked and put away, Kim started in on lunch. "What's Ms. Kimmie making for lunch, I'm starving!" Rocky's stomach growled in agreement with his question and statement.

The others laughed and simply shook their heads. "We're having Salad, baked potatoes, corn on the cob and steaks, as soon as Tommy, Jason, and you get that grill working," Kim informed him, watching as Rocky shot out of the kitchen to find his fellow former red rangers, who had gone outside to start the grill. Trini, Aisha, Kat, Hayley and Kira laughed and then joined Kim to make everything else while the rest of the guys all followed Rocky outside.

A half hour later, the girls emerged from the kitchen and found Tommy and Jason at the grill, talking about the best way to cook the steaks. Billy and Ethan sat in lawn chairs, discussing the importance of computers in science while they watched Zack, Adam, Rocky and Conner, who had had grouped together, play a game of touch football. "Just like old times." Kimberly's murmured statement had everyone's attention. There had been a time, some years before, when all of the older rangers could remember doing exactly this at one of their houses on any given Saturday.

Smiling, Kim shook off the déjà vu feeling and sat down on the steps. Kira went back in and then came back out, guitar in hand and sat next to her, immediately starting to sing something she'd been working on and asking Kim for her opinion. Hayley and Kat sat on the edge of the porch and talked about the dinner for later that night at Mercer's house. Trini and Aisha, seeing that the boys were having fun with the football, decided to join them, Trini joining Adam and Zack while Aisha grouped with Rocky and Conner. "You know Kira," Jason started as he and Tommy approached the porch. "You sound just like Kim did at your age."

Kira smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment." All eyes immediately went to where Tommy was pulling Kimberly off the porch and into his arms. Several sighs and 'You Go Man's' could be heard as Tommy swooped down and kissed the woman in his arms.

"I hate to interrupt the moment," Ethan spoke, watching as Tommy, Jason, and several of the others glared at him. "But what time are we supposed to be at Dr. Mercer's?"

"God Ethan!" Kira muttered as she swung a hand out and smacked him upside the head. He flinched when she did and then glared at her. "You know how to kill the moment, don't you?"

* * *

Four hours later, at exactly six thirty, two limos pulled up in front of the Mercer residence, as well as a jeep behind them. The group of old and new rangers piled out and stood staring in awe at the monstrosity that was Anton Mercer's home. Being careful to not let the two limo drivers see him, Tommy sat in his jeep a little longer and continued to speak with Hayley, who was back in the lair monitoring all of the elder rangers, as well as the four new ones. "You've got everything?" Tommy whispered.

"Yes. I've got visuals from you, Katherine, Billy, Kimberly, Zack, and Ethan. I've also got all of your vitals pulled up on the monitor. Are you ready for this?"

Tommy thought about that question for a minute. "Not really, but I'm going to have to deal with it the best I can, aren't I?"

"Just remember, you're better than he is and you've got your entire team to back you up, old and new, powers and without. Hayley out."

Tommy smiled at that and got out of the jeep. Once he joined the assembled group, the doors to the Mercer home opened and Anton stepped out, his butler and several bodyguards following. Tommy watched the man he thought he'd known as he surveyed the group of rangers. When Anton's eyes landed on Kat, Tommy watched Jason wrap his arm around her shoulders. When they landed on Aisha and Trini, both Rocky and Billy suddenly stepped up and slipped their arms through the girls', hands holding and fingers locking. When Anton's eyes went to Kira, Tommy watched in slight surprise as both Ethan and Conner stepped closer to her, shushing her protest. And when his eyes finally landed on Kimberly, Tommy made his move. Striding forward, he watched Anton's eyes narrow when he was within inches of Kim, then those hard eyes became slits when Tommy wrapped his arm possessively around Kim's waist, her head snuggling into the crook of his shoulder. "I'm not a tug-o-war rope," Kimberly whispered to Tommy, who looked down at her and smiled boyishly.

"I'm a little territorial, so sue me," he whispered back as she rolled her eyes at him. Tommy took a quick look around at the others and noted they were waiting for HIM to step toward Mercer.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Mercer greeted them. "Dinner will be served in exactly a half hour, why don't you follow me and we'll have appetizers in the library." With that, Anton turned and strode into the house. When the security guards, who looked more like thugs than anything, stepped forward, guns in hand, the group became unsure.

Kat leaned forward to whispered to Kim and Tommy. "I don't like this."

Kim nodded, as did Tommy. "We don't have much of choice now, let's go," Tommy spoke as he and Kimberly stepped up the walk and into the house, the others following close behind.

* * *

"I'm sure you're all probably wondering why I've summoned you all here," Anton started as the group settled in the library. Somehow, the new rangers had ended up sitting on the couch, or the floor, with Tommy and Kim in the middle, with the older rangers spread out around the moderately sized two room library. "It's funny really, but you're here for a competition."

"What kind of competition?" Zack questioned as he narrowed his gaze to just Mercer.

"We'll call them the Ranger Games," Anton spoke, watching as the group's collective expression was that of suspicion. 'Good, let them worry and wonder' he thought darkly.

Billy was the first to step up to the plate and try to get some info on these 'Ranger Games' as Anton had put it. "What exactly do you mean by Ranger Games?"

"Ah yes, as you've probably noticed, you're missing two of your teammates, are you not?" Those who had instantly caught on to who he was talking about felt a sick feeling in their stomachs, those who didn't watched their fellow rangers in worry. "I am holding them, and a few others, until the games are over."

"Are we supposed to win our friends?" Kat demanded as Jason held her tightly to his side.

Anton smiled. "Yes and no, my dear kitty," he mocked Kat, who's blue eyes glared back at him. "You get to compete, against one another, then against a champion of my choosing. If your champion wins, you and your friends live. If they lose, you still live, but the new rangers must give me their powers."

Suddenly, everyone was protesting. "If you decline the challenge, your friends forfeit their lives, and so will you."

Tommy held Kim's hand to the point that she felt as if the bones were breaking. "Tommy, we don't have a choice," Kim whispered. She knew very well who two of the people he was talking about having were - Tanya and Justin - but she couldn't be sure who the others were.

"How do we know you're not lying?" Jason asked suddenly. He'd talked to Tanya and Justin before the trip, both had been busy with school and career so they had told him they wouldn't be attending.

"Simple, you don't. It's your decision, if you'd like to chance your friends." The mutual feeling for the entire group was a sickening dread that was curling in their stomachs. How could they not save their friends.

"What do we have to do?" Tommy asked, once the general consensus of the entire group was to rescue their friends.

* * *

Tommy sat back in his chair in the lair and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. He and Hayley had been going over the audio and video recordings since the rangers had returned to his house four hours before at nine o'clock. Sighing, he looked over to where Hayley was falling asleep against her console. When the door to the lair opened, Tommy swiveled his chair around to see who was coming in. The sight of Kimberly carrying to steaming mugs made him smile. "Hey Beautiful," he whispered as she sat one down in front of him and took the other to Hayley's sleeping form. Carefully, she shook Hayley awake and murmured to her to go get some sleep.

Once they were alone, Kim went over to stand next to where Tommy was sitting, staring at the computer before him. "Figure anything out?" she whispered.

"Not a damn thing," he told her watching her nod. "What's wrong? I thought you'd be asleep by now."

"Too much running through my head for me to sleep," she whispered as she crouched down next to his chair. He turned to face her, smiling as she placed her palms lightly on the tops of his thighs to steady herself. "You ok?"

He didn't answer, he simply looked at her. Whatever had been going on with her last night, he hadn't seen much more than a flicker of an eye color all day. 'That should be a good sign' he thought as he reached up and ran his fingers over her cheek and into her hair. "You're worried about what's gonna happen, I can see it in your eyes," Kim spoke as he nodded.

"Yes, because once again the fate of the world, and our friends' lives, rests on the shoulders of a bunch of teenagers," he retorted as she laughed.

"Not quite. Last time I checked, the only teenagers around here were Kira, Ethan and Conner. We haven't been teenagers for a while."

"Things were so much simpler then."

"Simpler? Tommy are you nuts? We were doing this on a damn near daily basis as teenagers, when were things ever simple for us?" she incredulously asked as he laughed at her, shrugging at her question.

He watched the grin slowly appear on her face, and felt his heart all but burst at the fact that they, despite what was going on right this instant, were happy again, and would be happy in the future, because he knew that they were meant to be. Time and distance may have taken them down different paths but they had found their way back to one another. "You know, I could have used your help earlier," Tommy started as Kim looked up at him in confusion. "When they were down here with me, between them and Jason, all I heard was how you and I were the longest ever ranger couple and how things seem to be going back to that."

Kim laughed, but inside she could feel her heart break a little. 'If I had just asked for his help, we would have never had to be apart for this long' she thought to herself. It was true though, from what she knew, that they had indeed been the longest running ranger couple, and that in itself was every bit as miraculous as them being together again. When one is charged with saving the planet, it is nearly a proven fact that romance has no part in the equation. Somehow though, they had been able to manage it all those years ago, and God willing, they were gonna do it again. "Come on, you've been down here long enough. You need sleep," Kim pulled on his arms as she stood before him, tugging him out of his chair and toward her. She yelped in surprise when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him.

They clung to one another, minds racing. How something so right could have gone so wrong, they never would understand, but they both knew in that instant that they had been given a second chance most never got even close to. "Stay with me tonight," Tommy whispered in her ear, grinning foolishly when she shivered and nodded her head. Together, they turned for the stairs, making their way quietly through the house of sleeping rangers and up to Tommy's room.

* * *

Kim froze as they crossed the threshold of his bedroom, watching nervously as Tommy shut and locked his door. So much was going through her mind that she spaced out, so when Tommy gently touched her hands, she flinched. She saw the worried expression on his face and smiled, hoping to ease it. "Tommy," she whispered softly, looking up at him, praying that he had retained that unique ability to tell how she was feeling without her speaking the words.

She needn't have worried. He saw what she was thinking as clearly as he would have had he been reading a book. They had been close, as close as possible considering the circumstances of their teenage years, but they had never moved beyond the simple intimacy of kissing and holding one another. And if Tommy had read her eyes correctly, she had never made it further with anyone else than that. His mind argued that they should just go to bed, sleep off the exhaustion of the day, but his heart, his heart had other plans. They had never been together like that, and from the look in her eyes, he knew she needed the closeness. "Are you sure you're ok with this, Beautiful?" he whispered as he pulled her to him. He went slow, not wanting to scare her. After everything she'd been through...tonight had to be special.

"I've never been as sure as when I'm with you," she whispered, watching that grin she loved so much cross his features.

Tommy nodded, then leaned down and kissed her. It started out innocently enough, but the years of their separation, the fact that they were alone in his locked bedroom, and the uncertainty of the coming days were enough to have the passion that had been held at bay lash out of them both.

Kim let out a tiny moan of pleasure when Tommy wrapped his arms around her, cupping her bottom and pulling her upwards, bringing her closer to him. Somewhere in her love/lust induced mind, she thought that if this was what had been simmering under the surface all those years before, then it's a wonder he hadn't exploded every time they had stopped before going too far too soon.

Tommy wrenched his mouth away from hers a few minutes later, burying his head in the crook of her shoulder as he held on and fought to catch his breath. He could feel Kim's harsh breath on his own neck, could feel her body shudder at his touch; it made him smile. Once he regained some control, he stepped back, bent down, hoisted her into his arms much to her surprise, and moved toward the bed.

He sat her gently on the edge, bending down when she was secure so he could remove her socks. Once her feet were bare, he moved up, his hands sliding along the outside of her legs and up to her waist. She was wearing a pair of black jeans, a tank top, and one of his old white and black flannel shirts that she had borrowed earlier in the evening in favor of a jacket when she and the girls had gone outside to sit and watch the stars. His hands slipped under the flannel as they journeyed up her sides, and he quickly had the shirt off of her.

As soon as Tommy had her shirt off, Kim growled slightly, taking the initiative, and grasped the bottom of her tank top, yanking it off as quickly as she could. She smiled when Tommy gulped in surprise. 'Good, let him expect the unexpected with me' she giggled to herself as she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him to her. They held on, savoring what they were feeling, doing. This was definitely a milestone for the two of them.

Sitting back, Tommy pulled his tight black shirt off and tossed it on the floor with Kim's tank top. He smiled when her eyes popped open in surprise. 'That's right Kim, I've filled out a little bit more since the last time you saw me' he thought with humor as he watched her soft hand reach out and tentatively touch the muscles of his chest.

Deciding that while the feel of Kim's small hands on his skin was nice, he still wanted more. Leaning forward, he reached around her and undid the clasp of her bra, sliding the material from her shoulders as he leaned back. He hadn't fully uncovered her when he leaned back, as he wanted to see her approval of this before did. What he saw was her eyes clenched closed and her teeth gnawing on her bottom lip. She was scared. Knowing that he needed to calm her fears, Tommy leaned forward again, his lips seeking out the spot where her shoulder and neck met. He could feel her shiver at the contact, which made him smile. Slowly, as he peeled the bra from her, he placed tiny kisses on her skin, following its path.

When he finally sat back, satin pink bra in hand, he eyes feasted on the most incredible sight he'd ever been privileged to see - Kim bare to the waist, hands trembling as she held the blankets tightly. "Absolutely gorgeous," he whispered as he leaned forward, the bra forgotten in his lap and touched her with his fingertips. Her eyes flew open and locked with his, her surprise at his wanting to touch her evident.

"Tommy," she whispered seconds later, the raw need in her voice enough to have him shivering. He nodded, stood up, pulled her to him, and hugged her. Slowly, they finished undressing and then crawled into his bed.

Their explorations of each other's skin seemed to go on forever. A touch here, a kiss there, until they both knew they were tired of waiting. Tommy took the proper precaution, and then rejoined her on the bed.

Before long, they were both so lost in each other that nothing short of an atomic explosion would have disturbed them. When they both peaked, they were staring into one another's eyes, hands clasped together, faces centimeters apart. The love that had appeared out of nowhere with one glance a decade before, that had evolved slowly for nearly three years into something solid and heartwarming before it had crumbled, burst into passionate flames with the same, miniscule act that had brought them together.

In the aftermath of their coupling, Kim was nestled into Tommy's warm embrace, her head on his shoulder, body pressed against him as tightly as she could manage, and her right hand splayed across his chest, palm directly above where his heart steadily beat. Tommy had his arm wrapped around her waist, face turned toward the top of her head where he pecked an occasional kiss.

* * *

Downstairs, Jason and Kat lay on the couch, snuggled together, smiling. They had something neither of them could really name, and for the moment that was fine, but that wasn't why they were so happy all of a sudden. "Jas?" Kat whispered, raising her head off his chest.

"Hmm?" He could hear his two best friends, besides Kat, upstairs. You had to strain to really hear what was going on, but in his heart of hearts he'd known what was gonna happen when he'd heard them moving through the living room to the stairs.

"Did I just hear what I think I did?" Kat giggled softly when Jason nodded. "I'm happy for them."

Now that startled him a bit. Even though he and Kat had been together as a couple for a few months now, knowing how happy she was about that, every now and then, he knew she wondered what things would have been like if she and Tommy had stayed together. He also knew, even though Kat didn't, that tonight had been a milestone for the 'Longest Ever Ranger Couple'; neither Kim nor Tommy had ever BEEN with anyone else, despite what others thought, and he was the only person either of them had confided that in. "Me too. It's about time they got it right," he whispered, watching the laughter spark in Kat's eyes before it died down to something more along the lines of desire as he leaned closer and sealed his lips over hers.

"Think we'll be happy too?" she asked, hope in her voice, as she rested her head back on his chest.

"Yep."


	4. Chapter 3 Rangernapped

Ok, yes, I know, in the prologue Jason says he couldn't get a hold of Tanya and Justin and then in Chapter 2 his part mentions that he talked to them, he did, just after the prologue and before Chapter 1.

Ok, so like, I'm really excited now cause I've got 19 reviews for the story and everyone's been nothing but supportive of it, which I thank you all a million times over for. My original thought for this chapter was to just show the rangers training for Ranger Games, but after outlining my plans for this chapter and the next, and after some of the reviews, you're gonna get some more interaction between the younger and older rangers, and the couples I outlined in Chapter 2.

Also, for future reference, there are some rangers from the other seasons who WILL be making an appearance, but for now I'm gonna warn ya, I haven't watched much passed Turbo: The Movie, and my knowledge before that back to when Kim leaves, and up till Dino Thunder, is still pretty sketchy. I've watched a few episodes of Ninja Storm and have obviously watched Dino Thunder, so if I screw up the rangers' attitudes, etc, forgive me.

Also, ABC Family is having a Dino Thunder Marathon on April 4, 2004 (next Sunday). Just thought I'd let everyone know that I'm pretty sure they will be showing every episode of Dino Thunder up until that week's new episode, so incase you're like me and missed the first few episodes you can tune in and watch...heck, I'm gonna go as far as request the day off :)

Originally, this chapter was going to be called Pink-napped, but by the end, hopefully, you'll understand why I changed that.

Ranger Games: A Dino Thunder Reunion

Chapter 3: Ranger-napped

By: Pink-Green-White-4ever

Last Revised: March 28, 2004

Email: pinkgreenwhite4everyahoo.com

Website: see ff.net profile

* * *

7:30 A.M.

Sunday

The first sensation she had upon waking was that she was cold, and on closer inspection, alone in the bedroom. She blushed lightly, realizing that she and Tommy had made love merely hours before. Smiling, she sat up, hugging the sheets to her, and looked around the room. The door was ajar a bit, but other than that, it looked like he'd simply disappeared from the room. Leaning over, she ran her hand along the side of the bed where he'd slept. When her hand brushed over very cool sheets, she frowned. 'Where is that man of mine?' she thought, allowing the giddiness to overwhelm her for a moment. Sighing in frustration, she tossed the sheets aside and got out of bed.

* * *

"Where is everyone?" Kira asked tiredly as she stretched. She'd been sleeping on the floor, squished between Ethan and Conner, which while it hadn't been an entirely pleasant experience, didn't upset her like it would have a few months before.

A deep and familiar voice chuckled from above her head. Looking up, she saw that Jason lay on the couch, Katherine cuddle close to him, still obviously asleep on her boyfriend. "Kim's still sleeping, Aisha dragged Rocky and Adam out for breakfast supplies, Billy took Trini and Zack to the store for computer parts, Hayley's downstairs working already and Tommy just came down. As to where Ethan and Conner are, you're guess is as good as mine."

Kira laughed, rolling to her side, propping her head up on an upturned palm, and stared up at the former lead ranger. "So what's on your agenda for today?" she quipped.

"Me, I'm going to help Tommy whip you baby rangers' butts into shape for these Games," Jason chuckled at the incredulous look on Kira's face.

"Excuse me, Mr. Scott," she spoke icily. "We aren't as inexperienced as you've been led to believe."

"Knock it off, both of you, before you wake Kat up," Kim hissed as she stepped off the last stair. Both Kira and Jason looked at her in surprise. "Jason, where's Tommy?"

Blinking to recover from her surprise attack, he nodded to the front door. Taking his nod for what it was worth, Kim strode purposefully through the front room and out onto the front porch. A few yards away, beneath a tree, Tommy sat, meditating. She smiled and then quietly made her way towards him.

"Hey handsome," she whispered softly as she sat down in front of him. She noticed the grim smile on his face that clued her into his attention when he didn't open his eyes. "Is something wrong?"

This time, when Tommy sighed, his eyes opened and took in the woman in front of him. She was wearing his discarded shirt from the night before along with a pair of short shorts. Immediately, he could tell that Kim had picked up on his thoughts. "Did I do something wrong?" she asked, genuinely worried.

"No, it's me," he whispered, looked down at the grass before bringing his eyes back up to hers. "Kim, about last night..."

God knew she'd never wanted to hear those words come out of his mouth in that tone. Immediately, her eyes welled. He regretted what had happened between them, she could see it in his eyes before he even said it. "What about last night?" her voice cracked on the last couple of words.

"As much as I enjoyed being with you like that, I think we went too far too soon," he murmured, watching the shock and betrayal whip across her features. "We've only just gotten back together, I think we should slow down and take a look at what we're doing and how fast we're doing it."

She simply stared at him. She couldn't help it. Part of her was furious with him, and herself, for allowing the previous nights events to be tarnished, but she also understood where he was coming from. He was still scared for their future, still wondering about their past, that he wanted to approach their present as cautiously as possible.

"I see," she started, wishing to God she really didn't see where he was coming from.

"Kim, I didn't mean to make last night sound so..."

"Cheap?" she voiced, watching him wince. "Sorry, I know you didn't," she waved off her words. "I understand where you're coming from, but I wish to God you wouldn't deface what happened last night. What happened was something special, something that should have happened eight years ago," she finished, watching his eyes widen in shocked surprise. She had a point, last night was the culmination of the inevitable for them. He simply nodded and watched as she stood from her spot.

"Where are you going?" he asked as he stood with her a moment later.

She smiled up at him. "For a run. I need to clear my head and be alone for a few." With that, she leaned up, pecked a kiss to his cheek, and then started jogging away from him.

Tommy watched her go and wasn't sure why his heart felt like it had been ripped out of his chest again. "You know, after what the others told us yesterday, we would have thought you learned your lesson where she's concerned." Tommy slowly turned to face the two boys behind him.

When he glared that famous look their way, he watched in amazement as they didn't even flinch. "Mind your own business."

"It is our business," Conner spoke watching Tommy's gaze narrow on his face. "You're our teacher, our mentor, fellow ranger, and our friend."

"And Ms. Hart there happens to be our friend and fellow ranger as well, ex or not," Ethan simply stated, watching Tommy roll his eyes at them.

Tommy didn't say anything, he simply brushed past them to go back in the house. He had work to do and he knew if he stayed with Ethan and Conner any longer they'd have him running after Kimberly.

* * *

9:45 A.M.

"Alright Billy-man," Rocky started later that morning as everyone but Kim gathered with Tommy, Hayley, and the new rangers in the yard. "How are we going to do this?"

"Simple," Billy pointed out as he handed each of them a paper with what looked like a set of tournament brackets on it. "Hayley is going to referee each match. We wanted to get an idea of who our possible top four are, so we set up a mini competition. Best two out of three wins each match."

Kira, Conner and Ethan stared at the paper then looked up at the former Blue Ranger. "Yeah, um, someone want to explain something to me?"

All eyes turned toward the current Yellow Ranger when she held up the paper. "What do you mean by 'match'?"

The elder rangers smiled. Obviously, the new team didn't do much in the way of martial arts tournaments. "We're going to go three rounds with everyone, best two out of three wins," Zack informed her. "Your objective is to score as many points as you can to win."

"Remember one thing when we do this," Tommy said, gesturing to the whole team. "We do this as an exhibition, which means when you fight, you make it a point to not physically hurt the person you're with. Some of us aren't as good at this as others." His eyes pointedly turned toward the teens.

"Hey, don't get mushy on us," Ethan protested. "We can handle anything you can dish out."

Kira and Conner looked at him like he'd grown a second head. "Do you realize what you just said?" Conner asked. Ethan nodded and looked at his teammates in confusion. "We're talking former rangers, some of whom were the best of the best, and you just told them we could hold our own with them. ARE YOU NUTS?"

Kira shook her head at them. "We'll do our best, but somehow I don't see us being able to win very many of these."

"Self doubt is the number one threat to being the best ranger you can be," a soft voice lilted as all eyes turned to stare at the newly returned Kimberly. "You don't have the luxury to doubt your decisions, because sometimes they have to be split second ones. Go with your instincts, trust your abilities and your teammates. As long as you do your best, that's all we can ask of you, and all you can ask from yourselves."

The three young rangers nodded and smiled at her. "So," Kira started, turning to look at Billy another moment. "Who's going first?"

* * *

12:00 P.M.

Kira gulped again as she faced the woman before her. Somehow, going through Kat and Aisha had seemed like a breeze, as she had beaten both of them. Trini had been slightly harder, and Kira sighed at the thought that they'd been tied until that last match and she'd missed Trini's swift leg sweep, which had resulted in her landing on her ass. Now she was facing Kimberly, and despite that next to Trini, the woman wearing a pair of white short shorts and one of Dr. O's black shirts over her sports bra, had been without powers the longest, Kira had to admit she was getting her ass kicked. The first round had gone to her, but the second and a good portion of the third were Kim's.

"How the hell are you doing this?" Kira muttered when the brown eyed woman grinned at her, tossed herself forward in a walk over and managed to distract Kira enough that the younger girl was now flat on her back, again.

"Oh how does 'I was doing this when you were in grade school' sound?" Kim grinned as she thrust her hand out and helped Kira to her feet. "You ok?"

"Yeah."

Kim nodded, slung an arm around Kira's shoulders, and proceeded to go to the porch. Jason had finished all of his matches so he had started helping Hayley score the others, which meant he was currently watch Tommy and Conner face one another. "Damn it, if they don't look hot without their shirts on," Kim muttered when Kira looked to who she was talking about. There was Dr. O, exchanging friendly blows with Conner, both of whom were wearing shorts, no shirts, and bantering back and forth as they focused on what they were doing.

Kira stared, wide eyed at Conner. She'd never seen him without his shirt, and the funny feeling curling in the pit of her stomach had her sighing in frustration. "Tell me about it," Kim muttered when she heard Kira's sigh. "You should have seen me at your age, watching Tommy do this on a day to day basis. Talk about sexual tension."

Kira laughed at that. She couldn't help it. She had to admit, Dr. O was kinda sexy, but she'd never thought of Conner like that, much less as a human being. He'd always acted like a wild animal when he was around her. "Does he know you like him?" The question was completely from left field. Kira blinked and turned her gaze to Kim's smiling face.

"I don't like...that is to say I've never..."

"Oh yeah, the girl has got it bad," Aisha quipped when she joined them. Trini, Kat and Hayley weren't far behind. Only Tommy and Conner were left of the matches, so the girls were taking time to appreciate the view.

"Too bad I'm almost old enough to be his mother," Kat quipped as the group started laughing. Kira stared at her incredulously. Kat has Jason, why would she be thinking of Conner like that? Kira thought to herself before the sound of someone dying of laughter caught her attention.

Trini doubled over trying to catch her breath. "Not quite Kat!"

Meanwhile, the guys were focused on the two remaining fighters. "AH!" Conner yelled as Tommy performed a round house kick, knocking him back a few feet.

"Don't take your mind off the battle before you," Jason sagely informed the young red ranger, who did a summersault and got back to his feet.

"It's kind hard when six beautiful, sweaty women are over there staring at me like I'm a piece of meat!" Conner shot back as Zack, Rocky and Ethan began laughing. "What's so funny?"

Zack cleared his throat after a minute, attempting to calm himself. "That's the WORST thing to start thinking while you're facing Tommy of all people."

"Dr. O isn't that bad," Conner dodged a back hand, managing to grab Tommy and hip toss him to the ground.

Tommy grunted and shot back to his feet, his speed increasing with a bit of his anger. "Point for Conner," Adam spoke before continuing. "You don't get it, do you?" he asked Conner, who jumped over the leg sweep Tommy had intended to use on him. "Tommy and Jason and Rocky are the three best rangers here. Granted, we all have our strong points, but all around they are the strongest. One tiny distraction is all it's going to take for them to kick your ass."

With that said, the group watched as Tommy managed to flip Conner over his shoulder and have him laying on the ground with a solid THUD. "CONNER!" Kira screeched when she saw him on the ground, Dr. O's foot in the middle of his back.

"Point for Dr. o, who wins by the way," Ethan chuckled as Tommy helped Conner off the ground as Kira rushed forward to get a better look at him.

Both rangers looked at her in surprise as she circled around Conner, checking for injuries. Tommy smiled while Conner looked at Kira like she'd grown a second head, or another pair of arms. "Kira, really, I'm fine, I just got my ass kicked by our teacher."

Realizing that she was showing what she wanted to hide, Kira's face immediately darkened as she looked up at him. "Too bad he didn't kick your ass more, you're still the same jerk you were when we started this." With that, she turned and fled to the sanctuary of the other girls.

"Smooth Romeo," Tommy muttered as he approached the porch, taking the towel that Kim offered him, grinning when Conner glared at him. "So what's the score Billy?"

Billy smiled, motioning for them to give him a minute. "For the girls, our best hopes are either Trini, Katherine, or Kim. As for us guys..." and with that he paused to look up at everyone giving him a 'hurry up' look. "It's between Tommy, Jason and Conner." Now that surprised the group a little. Conner had, according to today's showing, managed to beat all of the girls, and all the guys but Tommy and Jason.

"Dang man," Ethan laughed as he slapped Conner on the back. "Didn't know you had it in you."

"Shut up."

* * *

3:15 P.M.

"Ok, so someone explain what exactly it is that Billy and Hayley have been doing for the past three hours?" Rocky grumbled as he plopped down on the couch next to Aisha. He was bored, he was tired, but most of all, despite that he'd eaten lunch an hour and a half ago, he was starving.

Jason and Kat sat in Tommy's recliner, shaking their heads at him. Outside, Trini, Ethan, and Adam were helping Hayley and Billy set up whatever it was they had been working on. Tommy, Kira and Conner were down in the lair, monitoring the city, and Kim and Zack were both sprawled out on the floor, talking quietly. "From what I got when I took their lunches out to them," Zack started, catching the others' attention. "Was that it's a simulation machine, that somehow, is going to give us make believe Tyrano-drones to train against as soon as they get it running."

"Like we haven't been interrupted enough by those boneheads," Jason cracked, causing Aisha, Kat and Kim to glare at him for the bad pun while Rocky and Zack laughed.

"Jason, your witty comments haven't gotten much better since we were all together last," Kim commented as Jason glared back at her. Jason was about to retort when Hayley entered the house, her face lit with a smile.

All eyes turned toward her as she reached for the glass of water she'd left sitting on the end table near where Rocky sat and slugged it down. "We're done," she sighed, wiping her hand over her sweaty forehead. "Billy says you've got ten minutes to get ready."

"Guess that means I should go pry those three away from the computers, huh?" Kim murmured, pushing herself to her feet and heading down to the lair.

Slowly, the five ex rangers left in the room, pushed themselves to their feet and followed Hayley outside. When they stepped onto the porch they watched as Adam, Ethan and Trini fought against Billy and Hayley's machine. "Sweet!" Zack cried as they watched the three.

For the next two hours, the rangers trained with the help of Billy and Hayley's machine. At five thirty, Kat and Aisha headed inside to make dinner, saying that Kim and Trini had already done their fair share, and dragged Rocky, Adam and Hayley in with them. As the sun started to set, Trini, Jason, Zack, Kim and Billy went further out into the yard and began to stretch.

"What are they doing?" Ethan questioned as he, Kira, and Conner sat down under the tree to watch the first rangers as they went through what looked like karate maneuvers.

"It's called a kata," Tommy murmured as they watched five of his best friends work through a fluid and graceful kata.

Kira looked from the elder rangers to Tommy and back before asking, "How come you're not out there with them?"

Tommy looked over at her and smiled sadly. "They learned this, from what Jason told me, as a way to build their teamwork during the first few months as rangers. I never really learned it, I guess, because I always felt like I was intruding on something special between them. We did eventually all learn one together."

"The only way I think I can describe this is," Conner started as his fellow rangers looked over at him. "Its beautiful, they way the move in complete harmony."

Tommy nodded. "Before long, the four of us will be use to each other's movements and what not. Maybe I'll even teach you guys a kata you can work on to do together."

"That'd be kinda cool," Ethan murmured.

Kira had been silent for a while now, simply electing to watch her new friends as they moved as one. Her mind immediately picked up on why they worked so well as a team, and it wasn't just because they'd spent so much time as rangers.

They followed Jason, whose leadership skills were beyond anything. Even quiet as a mouse, Jason's presence screamed 'I am the leader'. Trini's calm and serenity helped them focus on the task at hand. Zack's upbeat attitude helped distill their fears, while Billy's intelligence afforded them the reassurance that no problem was too great or too small. And then there was Kimberly. Kira had the feeling that the group had looked to her for her ability to help the others meld. She was like a magnet, drawing everyone to her, lavishing each person with the right attention to help them feel better about themselves.

'No wonder they all sort of group around her' Kira thought. Any other person would think automatically that Kim was the weakest of them, with her feminine attitude and girlish tendencies, and that the others saw it best to protect her but Kira knew better, just by watching them now. Kimberly was literally the heart of the team. 'Now I know why Aisha said Dr. O lost all his will to keep going after they split' she thought, turning her eyes to her teacher, who was currently allowing his gaze to linger over the woman he was so obviously in love with.

"Dr. Oliver," Conner spoke, catching Tommy, Kira and Ethan's attention. The two younger rangers knew what he was about to say so they nodded their approval to him. Tommy's eyebrow shot up at the seriousness of Conner's tone, as well as the fact that the younger male had used his full last name.

"Yes Conner?"

"We're going to protect them, no matter what," Conner told his teacher and fellow ranger. "We promise, we'll take care of them."

Tommy looked at his three charges and felt a smile start to tilt his lips. If his friends only knew what these three teenagers had just promised, he knew they'd protest being able to take care of themselves, but truth be told, he was happy that his charges and fellow rangers were going to help him protect their friends. "Thank you."

* * *

Monday

10:45 A.M.

"Good morning!" Kat smiled as Kimberly walked into the kitchen. The brown haired girl grimaced at Kat's chipper attitude as she sunk into one of the chairs around the table. The house, Kim decided, was way too quiet for it to be good.

When Kat sat a cup of coffee in front of Kim, the former ranger smiled her thanks. After taking a tentative swallow, Kim sighed. "Where is everyone? It's so quiet this morning?"

"Let's see," Kat said, mentally trying to tally up the rangers and where they were. "Jason, Rocky, Adam and Zack went into town to work out for a couple of hours and possibly catch a movie. Aisha and Trini went with Billy to get some parts that Hayley said she'd need for the Rangers' Raptor Cycles, and Tommy left for work around seven fifteen."

Kim nodded. "So, whatcha want to do today?" Kim asked as she took another swallow of her coffee.

"I want to rest, lounge, but I've got an errand to run." When Kim's eyebrows shot up in question, Kat continued. "Aisha packed Tommy lunch this morning, and the big defuss forgot it and some important papers. He called twenty minutes ago and I told him I'd bring them to him. Cab should be here soon."

"Mind if I come with?"

Kat smiled. "By all means, I'd enjoy the company."

Twenty minutes later, the cab pulled up in front of Reefside High School. Kat paid the driver and then she and Kimberly looked at the looming building. "Reminds me of Angel Grove High." Kat shook her head and laughed, threading an arm through Kimberly's as the pair made their way through the set of double doors and into the school.

"Can I help you?" the secretary behind the main counter in the office asked as Kim and Kat approached.

"Yes, we're here to deliver some important papers to Dr. Tommy Oliver," Kat smiled at the woman.

Nodding, the secretary handed the girls a clipboard and a pen. "I just need you to sign in, and I have to go get you permission from Principal Randall." With that, the woman scurried off to the back of the office while Kat and Kim signed in.

A few minutes later, the woman returned, and another woman, dressed in a dark gray suit approached behind her. "Welcome to Reefside High School," the new woman spoke. "I'm Principal Randall."

"Kat Hilliard and Kimberly Hart," Kim introduced the two of them. She couldn't help but stare at the principal. For some odd reason, the woman looked strikingly familiar. 'Well, it isn't Scorpina, we took care of her a long time ago' Kim thought to herself as she continued to stare. Kat had taken the reigns and was animatedly speaking with the woman.

"Please don't forget to sign out on your way out," Principal Randall spoke as she turned from the two girls, who were then given visitor's passes and instructions to Dr. Oliver's room.

Five minutes later, the two girls turned the last corner toward Tommy's room and were stopped short by what they found. Standing there was a group of Tyrano-drones and Zeltrax. "Who in the heck is that?" Kat questioned as she and Kim took battle ready stances.

"Don't know, but he's as ugly as Goldar and smells ten times worse," Kim wrinkled her nose at the minion in front of her.

"GET THEM!" Zeltrax commanded as the drones rushed forward. Kat immediately side stepped as three of them came at her while Kimberly went into the splits to avoid getting nailed.

The girls finally recovered from the first onslaught of drones as their shock wore off, but both of them noticed something. The drones were targeting just Kat. "Kim!" Kat called as she watched her friend slip past the drones to face the THING that had been in command of them. "We meet at last, Pink Ranger!" Zeltrax hissed as Kimberly let an eyebrow raise in interest.

"And just who told you I was the Pink Ranger, hmm?" Kim taunted as she and Zeltrax circled one another.

"My master."

Kim smirked. How many times before had she heard THAT line? 'Too many to count, I'm afraid' she thought wryly to herself as Zeltrax made his move, lunging at her. Immediately, she flipped over him, thanking god for the high ceilings in the hallway. As she twisted and landed, she saw Zeltrax come at her again. Instincts and training a decade old kicked in as she parried each punch throne by her adversary.

"You are well trained, Pink Ranger, but not well enough!" With that, Zeltrax fired an energy beam at Kat, causing Kim to cry out for her friend.

As the battle progressed, more and more students and teachers entered the hallway to see what was happening, including Tommy, Kira, Ethan and Conner. "Guys!" Kira cried as she saw the blast knock Kat back into the arms of the drones. Tommy sprang forward, his mind numbing at the thought that one of his best friends was hurt. Conner and Ethan, who had been in another room closer to Kat, jumped into the fray to check on her. "I'm fine, help Kim!" Kat yelled as she backhanded and roundhouse kicked three drones.

As Kat's comment registered, Tommy's gaze hit the combatants at the far end of the hallway from his room. There was Kim, and Zeltrax. "Say goodbye to your precious pink friend!" Zeltrax's voice and gaze was aimed at Tommy, who watched as the hulking thing grabbed Kim's arm and disappeared through and invisi-portal.

"KIM!" Tommy and Kat screamed as they watched her disappear.

* * *

"My lord, the deed is done. Zeltrax is bringing the former pink ranger to you now," the gray suited woman spoke through the communication device sitting on the desk before her.

"A job well done, Elsa. You've finally managed to do something right. Return immediately."

"Of course." The communication went silent, the device disappearing, as a knock of the door was heard. "ENTER!"

In filed Tommy, Kat, Kira, Ethan and Conner. "Dr. Oliver, to what do I owe this visit?"

"Principal Randall, I have to take a leave of absence, effective immediately."

* * *

Jason and Rocky both looked ready to punch something. Trini and Aisha sat with Kat, nursing her bruises and some minor cuts from her battle with the Tyrano-drones. Both Zack and Adam sat on the steps leading down from the upper part of the house in a state of numbed shock. Billy sat at the computers with Hayley, attempting to figure out what had happened. Amidst all of the small conversations, Tommy sat in his chair, his face giving away every emotion he felt. Conner, Kira and Ethan were still stuck in class for another hour, which meant they'd arrive to help as soon as they could get away. 'Mesogog has Kimberly' he thought to himself, his heart shattering every time it tried to accept that fact.

"Shouldn't we be doing something more than standing here waiting for a ransom note?" Jason growled as he whirled around. His eyes instantly caught Tommy's face, his mouth shutting just as quickly. He knew the current black ranger was feeling guilty for what had happened at the High School, and Jason more than knew exactly how Tommy was feeling.

"Right now, the only thing to do is wait, and let Billy and Hayley do what they can. The rest of us are pretty useless in that area," Aisha muttered as she finished placing a band-aid on Kat's arm. The blonde smiled her thanks before moving over to stand next to Tommy. She crouched down next to the chair where he sat, touching his arm to get his attention.

She felt her lips tremble when she saw the tears in his eyes. "I am so sorry," she whispered softly through her own tears. All of the other rangers immediately turned their attention to the pair. When Tommy turned a quizzical look in her direction, Kat continued. "I wasn't strong enough to get to her in time."

Tommy looked as though he'd been smacked by a Mac Truck as the meaning of her words washed over him. "You're sorry? Kat, you have nothing to be sorry about," Tommy's shocked voice spoke. "If anything, I should have reacted quicker when I heard the commotion in the hallway."

"Enough blaming yourselves, both of you," Trini scowled. "This is that THING'S fault, not yours."

"I think I can shed a little light on him for the rest of you, seeing as Tommy probably won't," Hayley interrupted. The entire group focused their attention on her as she swiveled her chair to face them. "All we know about him is that his name is Zeltrax, and for some odd reason, since the new rangers came into existence, he's been gunning for Tommy, purposely. We don't know his motives, or anything about him beyond the fact that he's Mesogog's second in command, he's a skilled warrior, and he's hell bent on revenge."

Zack started nodding his head, as though he was starting to understand something. "Which would explain, partially, why he took Kimberly. If he and this Mesogog have done their homework, they know other than Hayley and the new rangers, the best way to get to Tommy is through Kim."

"I'm going to kill him, when I get my hands on him, I'm going to wring his scrawny neck," Tommy finally muttered, rage filling his entire being.

Adam jumped up from his seat then, and moved toward Tommy, who had stood and was about to start for the stairs. "Hang on Bro," Adam started, watching Tommy glare at him. "Remember what Zordon told us. Don't ever escalate a battle."

"He's got Kimberly, therefore I'm not escalating anything. I'm going to finish this once and for all." With that, Tommy pushed passed Adam and made for the stairs, until the two people standing at the top of the staircase ceased his movement. "Tanya? Justin?"

* * *

When she opened her eyes, she knew she wasn't anywhere near Reefside anymore. The darkness of the room she was in scared her. When she tried to move, she found that her arms were chained to the walls. "Don't move so much, you'll hurt yourself," a soft, female voice whispered from somewhere to her left.

"Who's there?" she whispered through parched lips. Her head was starting to ache, a slow, dull throbbing that started at the base of her skull and behind her eyes.

"My name's Alyssa." As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she noted that there was a dim light showing from under the door that allowed her to make out that she was not alone in the room. In fact, other than the woman who had just spoken, there were at least ten other people in the room. "What's your name?"

"Kimberly Hart," she spoke, closing her eyes and trying to use some of Trini's breathing techniques to calm herself down enough to get the headache to disappear.

"Kimberly? As in, Tommy Oliver's Kimberly?" a voice, this time decidedly male, questioned. Kim winced at the sound, but prepared to reply none-the-less.

Now that startled her. How would they know about her and Tommy unless they knew about... "Who are you?"

"T.J. Johnson," the man spoke. Kim racked her brain for a face to go with the name. "I was the Red Turbo Ranger, when Tommy stepped down, and the Blue Space Ranger."

'My God!' Kim thought to herself. 'I am in a room full of ex-rangers!'

"I see you're all getting acquainted," a new voice boomed as the door flew open. Kim squinted as she took her first look at the newcomer.

"YOU!"

"Yes me, Ms. Hart. Are your accommodations to your liking?" the figure asked, watching Kim glare at him while he smirked.

She glared. "No, actually, I could use a long hot bubble bath, some Swiss chocolates and possibly that nice king-size bed in Tommy's bedroom, but I don't think you're gonna be giving it to me."

"Such a sense of humor you have, my dearest ex Pink Ranger."

"Yeah, you know me, funniest thing on two legs," Kim sarcastically muttered to the figure.

"Be sure to watch that mouth of yours Ms. Hart, I'd hate to have to let Zeltrax shut it for you, permanently."

* * *

Ohhh...a few surprise thrown in there. I've been trying to do my history homework on the Rangers the last couple of days... rumor around the web is that Elsa and the principal of Reefside High are the same person (I don't know, haven't seen the first three episodes of Dino Thunder yet) so like I said before, I'm taking liberties. And Gee, what's this, Kim's stuck in a room full of ex-rangers... :P


	5. Chapter 4 Family Reunion

3-30-04 - After scaring myself witless last night, I have a new appreciation for the backup disks that you get with your computer...dummy me accidentally hit, instead of the restart button, restart in MS-DOS mode......and didn't realize it. Started the computer about 1:30 this afternoon and Windows 98 wouldn't boot up......had to recover the system files and then reload half my programs...GRRRRRRRRRR!!

Ok, to comment on some of the reviews. Beta-reader comment by I think Dagmar Buse......if I could find someone willing to edit my stories, then I would, but none of my friends like PR and don't want to edit for me. I'll try my best to catch my errors next time :)! Also, thanks for pointing out that comment on sanctity...I'll have to go back and change that. I know a couple of people said something about the other rangers from other seasons...this is where you're going to get to meet all of the ones I brought along for the ride, and you'll find out why they're here.

Other than that, thanks to all of you for reviewing the stories, we're at 34 and counting!

As the rangers are introducing themselves to Kim, I'm not quite sure how they'd say their team names, so just give me some leeway, k?

Last but not least, my original plan for this chapter went completely out the window after reading one of the reviews; I got a wicked idea. Not that my idea hasn't been attempted before, but I'm broadening it a bit. Originally, the group was supposed to compete in the Ranger Games to save their friends, and that's still gonna happen, but I'd like to think I've upped the stakes with my new idea.

Ranger Games: A Dino Thunder Reunion

Chapter 4: Family Reunion

By: Pink-Green-White-4ever

Last Revised: April 1, 2004

Email: pinkgreenwhite4everyahoo.com

Website: see ff.net profile

* * *

When the door closed again, leaving Kimberly and the others alone, the former pink ranger had an idea. "Ok, I'm guessing that at some point or another, all of you were rangers. You guys want to tell me who you are?"

"That depends, who were you?" a voice shot back, this one a guy's voice, and it wasn't T.J.

"Kimberly Hart, Earth's first pink ranger," Kim growled, hearing the other's gasp.

"I can't believe you were one of the first rangers!" someone grumbled. Kim blinked as the voice carried to her.

"Excuse me, what's so hard to believe about me being a ranger, Mr.?"

"Carter, Carter Grayson," the voice started. Kim laughed. Jason had told her all about the Red Ranger mission to scrap Serpentara. He'd even filled her in on the other red rangers, nothing that several needed a good butt kicking.

"Oh, I've heard all about you," Kim quipped. "One of my best friends would just love to shove that attitude of yours down your throat."

There was a growl and the clanking of chains as Carter tried to move. "And which friend would that be?" This time, the voice was female, the tone icier than even Kim's own had been known to be.

"Jason Scott, original red ranger." The room went eerily silent.

There was a small amount of amused laughter coming from the opposite side of the room from where Kim was.

"Well, I vote if we get out of here," a distinctly amused male voice started. "We let Jason kick Carter's butt."

"SHUT UP DUSTIN!" the group raged.

Kim sighed. 'Amateurs!' she thought as she moved a hand slowly to the bridge of her nose, attempting to rub away the soreness there. "Ok, that's enough. Why don't we take a role call and you tell me who you are, which team you're from, and how the heck you got here."

"I'm Carlos Valerte, former Green Turbo and Black Space Rangers. Um, T.J. and I were sitting on the Astro Mega ship one minute and being thrown into this cell the next."

Kim felt herself frown. That didn't sound good. "Ok."

Chains rattled as whoever was to Kim's left spoke up. "Danny Delgado, Black Wild Force Ranger. Alyssa, the White Wild Force Ranger, and I were training in the forest on the outskirts of town when we were surrounded by these, things," he started. "Next thing we know, we're being tossed in here with the others."

"They're called Tyrano-drones," Kim filled them in.

"Well, Cam and I were at Ninja Ops and next thing we know, we're being surrounded by a bunch of goons," a younger male spoke. "By the way, I'm Dustin Brooks, Yellow Ranger, and my friend is Cam Wantanabe, Green Ranger, Ninja Storm."

'That explains it' Kim thought of the tone of Dustin's voice. The Ninja Storm rangers were the team just before Tommy's Dino Thunder team. "Well, since I already introduced you to Carter, I should introduce myself. I'm Dana Mitchell, Pink Lightspeed Rescue Ranger."

"Lucas Kendall and Wes Collins, Blue and Red Time Force Rangers," Lucas informed Kimberly as she turned her head in his general direction, even though she doubted he could see the movement. "We were on a scouting mission. We fell through a hole and the next thing we know, we wake up chained to the wall in here."

One of the girls sighed softly. "Guess that leaves me and Damon. I'm Maya. I was the yellow ranger for the Lost Galaxy Squadron, and my teammate is Damon Henderson, Green Ranger."

"I have no clue how Maya and I ended up here, but it couldn't have been good."

'Dang!' Kim thought, quickly tallying up the rangers and teams. "Well, it appears we've got people from every ranger team here. What the heck is Mesogog up to?" Kimberly muttered, unintentionally, out loud.

"What's with this guy?" Carlos questioned her.

Kim sighed. 'I hope I remember everything Tommy and Hayley told me last night' she thought. "His name is Mesogog," she started. "When Tommy Oliver, stepped down from being a Turbo ranger, and from racing, he started studying for his PhD. Well, he'd gone into what's called, Dino Research. A couple of years ago, the island he was working on exploded. Somehow, the technology that he'd helped Anton Mercer of Mercer Industries develop, fell into the wrong hands. A couple of months ago, Tommy had to activate the Dino Thunder Rangers, after he discovered the new bad guy and after the three rangers found these mysterious meteorite crystals that bonded with them, giving them super powers."

"Wow," Alyssa started.

"Yeah. Since then, Tommy's joined them as the Black Ranger." Kim smiled, Alyssa's obvious awe over the story reminding her of her own when she'd seen Tommy morph.

Someone laughed. Turning her head, Kim caught it coming from where T.J. was sitting. "Trying to cover all the color bases, is he?"

Kim smiled. "Tell me about it. First green, then white, red and now black. I figure it's blue or yellow next," Kim quipped, drawing laughter from the guys and a round of giggles from the girls.

Maya's soft question sobered the group suddenly. "Do you think we'll ever get out of here?"

Kim sighed, her mind running over the events of her capture. "I was with Kat Hilliard when I was taken, bets are the others know I'm missing by now."

"Others?" Alyssa questioned.

"Anton Mercer invited all the rangers up to Justin Stewart, Blue Turbo Ranger, to join him for a thing called Ranger Games. Tanya and Justin were supposed to be in here, and we were supposed to compete against Mercer's henchmen to get them back, but obviously that wasn't the truth."

A frustrated sigh was followed by Carter's soothing, low whisper. "So what exactly does that mean?" Dana questioned from her spot.

"What it means is that Jason, Zack, Billy, Trini, Rocky, Adam, Aisha, Tanya, Justin, Tommy and the new rangers are still out there. It means we just may have a chance at being rescued."

"Well, when we do get rescued, it'll be a ranger family reunion!" Dustin quipped as the others groaned. The events of the day started wearing on the captive rangers, causing each of them to start to slip into an exhausted sleep.

'Tommy, where are you?' Kim thought, her eyes clenching closed in fear. She could only imagine what he was thinking or doing at the moment. 'He is probably freaking out!' her mind shouted at her. As she started to slip into sleep, her memories took her back to the night before. She'd fallen asleep on the couch and then had woken up in Tommy's bedroom, plastered to his side. She had lain there for nearly two hours, simply watching him and letting the fact that they were back together finally sink in. "Tommy," Kim murmured sleepily as her body went limp.

* * *

"You ok?" Hayley asked as she and Tommy sat in the lair. They were taking a five minute break in their search for Kimberly, and she thought now was a good time to bring up his guilt over the incident.

For a moment, Tommy said nothing, his attention focused on the computer screen before him. "No," he whispered, turning to face Hayley. "My mind keeps playing back Sunday morning."

Hayley nodded. She'd heard from Conner and Ethan about the talk Tommy and Kim had had under the tree. "Tommy, you can't keep beating yourself up over that. You were right, you two don't need to jump into something that deep as fast as you did, you've both been hurt and you both need time to come around."

Tommy simply stared at his friend. Sometimes she knew him as well as his high school best friends, and sometimes she knew him better. "I know, but she didn't even come to bed on her own," Tommy sighed. "I had to carry her upstairs when I found her sound asleep in the recliner when I came down to check on everything."

"And have you thought that maybe she just fell asleep watching the movie with the others?" Tommy glared at her.

Before either of them had a chance to retort, the alarm was blaring in warning. "Mercer's goons are here!" Jason hollered down the stairs.

* * *

"Mr. Mercer sent me to bring you to his compound," Alexi started as Tommy walked out onto the porch. He'd made Hayley, Tanya and Justin stay inside while he and the others went to see what Mercer's driver wanted.

Kat looked a bit confused. "I don't understand," she mumbled.

Tommy understood exactly what Alexi was talking about. Standing there, at the center of the ranger group, he spoke the words he'd used some years before when they'd had to face one of their biggest challenges. "It's time."

* * *

"Wakie, wakie!" a voice screeched as the room of captive rangers was startled awake. The first thing they noticed was that the lights were on, the second thing they noticed was that Elsa was towering over Kimberly, who was still slightly asleep and leaning against the wall behind her.

"Well, if it isn't Biker Chick," Wes commented. Kim chocked on her laughter at his description of Elsa when said 'Chick' grabbed here limp brown hair tightly.

Elsa glared at Kim before glaring over at Wes. "Now, now, Red Ranger," she spoke, her voice sickeningly sweet. "I'd keep my mouth shut, if I were you."

"Yeah, but you're not me," Wes pointed out, a sarcastic smile taunting Elsa.

Elsa raised an eyebrow at him, teasing him with a, "You know, Red Ranger, I'd hate for Dr. Oliver to be mad at you for getting Kimberly hurt." Her smile was one of pure victory as all of Wes' color drained right out of his face. It wasn't just that fact that he'd be facing an angry Tommy, it was that they could really hurt Kimberly, and for some reason, the original pink ranger had grown on him in their hours together.

"That's what I thought." Turning, Elsa motioned for the Tyrano-drones that had come in with her to unchain Kimberly and take her from the room. "My master requests your presence." With that, the Drones hauled a struggling Kimberly out of the room, while the rest of the rangers protested.

When the door slammed shut, the room went dark again. "You know, if what Kim said was true, we're not going to have to face only Tommy," Carlos growled, trying to pull the chains he was in from the wall.

"Yeah, we really don't need to face a group of angry ex-rangers if something happens to their friend," Carter huffed as he tried vainly, yet again, to free himself. "This sucks ass. We're supposed to be members of one of the most elite fighting forces in the universe and we can't even break the chains holding us."

Dana rolled her eyes at her boyfriend. "You never learn, do you?" she asked suddenly, knowing she had everyone's, especially Carter's, attention. "Some of us have been without powers for a couple of years. If we stayed that strong afterward, do you think Kim of all people would be in this mess with us?"

"Dana has a point," Danny agreed.

T.J. sighed. "From what Cassie and I dug up a few years ago on the original rangers," he started, knowing everyone turned their attention to him. "They were probably the best team. They might not have been the strongest, and their technology wasn't as advanced as some of ours, but they had to start from scratch, where as the rest of us had other teams to look back on and learn from."

"If anyone can get us out of this," Cam spoke for the first time since the ordeal had started. "It will be the original rangers. My father told me about them. They had the most diverse team."

A round of hmm's was heard in agreement with Cam's statement.

* * *

"Welcome to Ranger Games Arena," Anton announced as the group emerged from the limos, finding themselves standing in front of what was a mini stadium. Warily, the group eyed the stadium, then Anton, then each other. "If you'll follow me, I'll show you the locker rooms and give you a run down of your competitions."

* * *

"Hayley?" Tanya asked as she and Justin bounded down the stairs into the lair.

A grunt was heard before Hayley replied. "Almost done!" Quickly, she typed in several commands into the computer. "It's a good thing Rocky still had access to his ZEO powers!" Hayley laughed.

Tanya smiled. "Did it work?" Justin asked in awe as he watched the computer do the calculations.

Hayley nodded enthusiastically. "Yep. I managed, with Billy's quick calculations, to align the Blue ZEO power Rocky gave you, and Tanya's Yellow ZEO power, with Kira and Ethan's Raptor cycles."

"That's awesome, Hayley!" Tanya managed. She was still in shock when Tommy had brought up the ZEO powers earlier in the morning. "So, we'll be able to get to this Island Fortress you and the others were talking about?"

Hayley looked up at Tanya, noticing that the light in the other girl's eyes seemed to go from carefree to battle ready in less than a second. "As long as you get the cycles to 536 miles per hour, yes. When the kids were saving Tommy from Mesogog, they had to do the same thing."

Justin and Tanya nodded in unison. They'd been warned about what would happen if they didn't get the bikes to the proper speed. Hayley refrained from chuckling when the two rangers before her frowned at the same time. "How are we gonna get those goons to show back up and create a portal?"

"By going to where I find the original portal when the others went to rescue Tommy," Hayley said as she punched a few buttons and gestured toward the 'viewing globe' on the other side of the room. "The fact that they'll be seeing two ZEO rangers instead of the Dino Thunder rangers ought to give you enough of an advantage to get passed them."

"Let's hope so," Justin finished, Tanya nodding her head in agreement.

* * *

"Welcome to my home, Ms. Hart." The voice was so smooth and chilling that it sent shivers down Kim's spine. She'd never heard a voice sound quite like that before.

"You must be big, bad Mesogog." Kim trembled as the man, correction, Dinosaur, walked into the light.

With an infuriating tone, he replied. "I've been called many names." Just by his stance, the way he spoke to her, Kim knew immediately that she'd met this person before.

Mesogog watched her, saw the startled surprise on her face and in her eyes, and smiled. "Yes Ms. Hart, I am he, and he is me." Kim simply growled. "You aren't as stupid as that pink spandex makes you appear."

"Yeah, well, it's been eight years since I wore pink spandex in the capacity you're talking about," Kim fired back. She had the sick feeling this was turning into a twisted game of cat and mouse.

He smiled, or did something as near that as he could. "What if I could offer you a chance at putting your beloved color on again?" Mesogog asked as Kim's brow furrowed in confusion.

"And just why would I want to do that? But more importantly," Kim snapped at him. He watched her, and was reminded of the way Dr. Oliver had acted the last time he'd been in this same room. "Why would you offer me that chance?"

"Come now, Ms. Hart," he started as he circled the table she was tied down to. "You are but the heart of the team." At the use of the bad pun of her name, Kim tried to wrench free of the restraints that were holding her. "Don't you want to save your friends?"

Her eyebrow shot up in suspicion. "Of course, but what do you get out of this?"

"The Dino Thunder Rangers' powers."

Kim blinked. 'DUH!' her mind screamed. 'If he really is you know who, he wants you for his champion. "Sorry, but I don't think my thighs will look too good in pink spandex again," Kim retorted after recovering from her shock. "It was a completely different story when I was seventeen."

"It does not matter to me, Ms. Hart," Mesogog hissed. "One way or another, your friends will fail and your love and his new charges will forfeit their powers, and their lives." With that, he swept from the room in a flurry of Tyrano-drones and black leather.

Kim tried to swallow the lump of fear in her throat. She really didn't like the sound of that. 'Somebody help!' she meekly thought.

* * *

The group was sitting in chairs waiting for Mercer to come back. He'd shown them to the locker rooms and told them to get ready before he'd disappeared. Of course, that had been nearly two hours before. "Tommy, I don't like this," Zack complained as Tommy nodded.

"Neither do I, Bro, but we've got to deal with it."

Trini sighed and stood up from her place next to Billy, walking towards Tommy like a woman with a great weight on her mind. "Do we even know who has Kim? And do we even know if this guy, or guys, has more of our friends? No, we don't," Trini started, whirling around to face the others. Tommy watched her. Trini tended to get really pissy when she was scared. "We don't know if anything they say is true."

"Are you willing to risk your beloved Crane's life on that, my dear Griffin?" All eyes turned toward where Anton stood in the doorway to the locker room. "If you'll follow me, we'll go into the arena and you can begin your competition."

Reluctantly, the group followed him through the maze of corridors to the open field. In the center, what looked like a maze was set up. "Your first test is that of hand to hand combat versus your fellow rangers."

The group looked shell-shocked. They had expected that to be the only competition, then the best of them would face Mercer's champion. "Things like this are never that simple," Conner sighed as the others nodded in agreement.

"Right you are, Mr. McKnight. Two of you will be eliminated from this round and the rest will proceed." As one, the group nodded.

"Good, then my assistant, Ms. Lola, will watch over you," Anton spoke as the woman, who looked like the old saying 'Built Like A House' come true, stepped onto the field. "I wouldn't give her any problem, she's more than capable of snapping your necks." With that, Anton exited the field, leaving the rangers gaping at his retreating figure.

"Chop Chop, boys and girls!"

* * *

Elsa glared at the monitor as she and Zeltrax watched the two Raptor Cycles speed toward one of their former portal locations. "Get going, Zeltrax," Elsa whined as they watched the two rangers.

"Why me?"

"Because, I'm supposed to be babysitting the pink brat until the master returns," was the saucy reply.

Zeltrax growled at her. "I thought the blue and yellow rangers were with the master?"

"Obviously not, you idiot."

* * *

"Tanya, think this is gonna work?" Justin called as their pair slid the bikes to a dead stop.

"It has to," Tanya muttered, her mind replaying the look on Tommy's face as he and the others related the events of the passed weekend to her and Justin upon their arrival.

Justin gasped. "Show time," he mumbled as Tanya blinked away the memories. Tanya took a good look at her younger teammate and smiled under her helmet. In eight years, Justin had grown up a lot, but one thing had remained the same - his positive attitude in battle.

Both rangers revved their bikes as they saw Zeltrax and a group of Tyrano-drones appear from an invisi-portal. Taking a deep breath, the two surged forward. "Justin, don't engage them unless we have to! Our priority is getting to that portal!"

"Gotcha!" Justin hollered back as he and Tanya split up, her going to the right around the group and him going left. They managed to get passed the drones and only had Zeltrax to contend with to get to the portal.

Their time together as Turbo rangers afforded them the split second knowledge of what the other was thinking. Blue and Yellow blaster beams were fired at Zeltrax's feet, knocking him back, as the two rangers raced passed him and into the portal, which promptly closed behind them.

* * *

"Carter, sit down!" Dana hissed at her boyfriend as his futile attempts to free himself got on her nerves.

Sighing, Carter dropped into a heap on the floor, panting. "Dustin?" Cam questioned a moment later.

"Almost...got it!" Dustin cried out as he felt the shackles around his wrists come off. "Boy, am I glad Tori showed me how to do that!" Dustin quipped as he scooted over to Cam and began picking the locks of the shackles around his friend's hands.

"Dustin, did you just free yourself?" Maya asked cautiously.

Dustin grinned. "Yes ma'am I did."

"Then hurry up and get the rest of us free!" Wes yelled at him.

* * *

"Well, where do we go from here?" the Blue Ranger asked as he and his partner crept along the hallways of the Island Fortress.

"Follow me," the Yellow Ranger whispered. "Tommy told me where the holding cells are around here." Carefully, they made their way further and further into the fortress. When Yellow stopped, Blue asked what was up. "Don't you hear the voices?"

Blue strained his ears, listening as two recognizable voices were heard. "Carlos, T.J.," Blue whispered as Yellow nodded. The pair made their way to the door where the voices were coming from. There were no bars to see inside, and from the small slip between the door and the floor, it appeared no light was on in the room.

"Ready?"

"Should we warn them first?" Blue asked as Yellow shook her head. "T.J.! Carlos!" Blue called out.

Inside the room, both men froze. "That couldn't be, could it?" Carlos asked as T.J. laughed. Kim had been right, the others had come for them.

"JUSTIN!" T.J. hollered, listening as his young friend laughed on the other side of the door.

"Just stand back guys, while Tanya and I bust you out." Seconds later, the door was flung open by the blasts of the ZEO lasers. The lights flipped on as soon as the two rangers stepped in, gasping when they saw the room's occupants.

The Yellow Ranger immediately searched for her missing Pink friend, only to see she was nowhere to be found. "Justin, Kim's not here," Tanya whispered.

"The Biker Chick took her off somewhere," Wes started as he stood. "I'm guessing to meet that Mesogog guy Kim told us about."

Justin proceeded to help the others stand up and shake off the effect the bright light was having on them. "Tanya, we have to get them out of here."

"We aren't leaving without Kim, Tommy and Jason would kill us," Carter mumbled as Dana helped support his unstable position.

Wes nodded, as did the others. "Carter's right," Alyssa spoke softly, eyes imploring Justin and Tanya to listen. "She's a friend, a fellow ranger, we can't leave her here. Besides, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd like to escape the wrath of the original rangers unless I absolutely have to face it."

No further words were spoken as the group scurried out the door in search of their friend.

* * *

"Is the machine all set up?" Mesogog hissed at Elsa, who was finishing putting wires together on the laser that was pointed at a still struggling Kimberly.

Elsa smiled at her master and nodded. "Almost complete my lord."

"Good. When it's done, use it on her. I want the transfer complete before the Rangers finish their Games."


	6. Chapter 5: Yellow and Blue To The Rescue

First - I am looking for a Beta-Reader/Editor. If there's someone out there willing to do it, could ya email me??  
  
I also noticed a lot of you were right, the girls haven't really gotten the same 'fleshing out' that I've done with the guys. Hopefully, I've done a better job with this chapter. And as you'll see, for some reason, I took a big liking to Tanya in this chapter...not quite sure why.  
  
As always, your positive comments and suggestions are appreciated. You can read and review or even email me!! I appreciate any ideas, conceptions, etc you send.  
  
The most exciting thing that's happened all week is that MY FAVORITE PR author reviewed my story!!!! Thanks JTrevizo for the review!!! Check out her PR stories: Always A Ranger, Second Best: an Always a Ranger Interlude, and Sometimes When We Touch!!  
  
Also, thanks to the reviewer who pointed out the thing on Cam...told ya I wasn't really up on the other teams. For correction, Cam was the Green Samurai Ranger from PRNS.  
  
Please see the end of the chapter for a special announcement by the author.  
  
Ranger Games: A Dino Thunder Reunion  
  
Chapter 5: Yellow and Blue To The Rescue  
  
By: Pink-Green-White-4ever  
  
Last Revised: April 5, 2004  
  
Email: pinkgreenwhite4everyahoo.com  
  
Website: see ff.net profile  
  
"When I saw you I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew" - From Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

* * *

The alarm blaring was the rangers' first indication that someone knew they were out of their cell. Their second was the shouting that could be heard just ahead of them as they all crept down the darkened hallway. "That's that ugly goon we faced earlier," Justin muttered as he and Tanya peered around the corner, spotting Zeltrax ahead commanding Tyrano-drones to search for the group.  
  
"Yeah, and he's headed this way. How many of you guys still have your powers?" Tanya pointedly asked the other rangers, her mind moving a mile a minute to formulate a plan. 'This is more Billy's area of expertise, but hey, I can do this' she thought as several of the other rangers raised their hands. Not all of them still had powers.  
  
Tanya's thoughts were scattered the second the creepy voice infiltrated her head. "Well, well, what do we have here?" Zeltrax boomed as he watched the group of rangers start to inch their way back down the hall.  
  
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the smooth voice hissed, causing the rangers to whirl around, only to come face to face with Mesogog.  
  
Justin's eyes went wide, as did Alyssa's. Dustin and Cam merely stared, while Wes and Carter growled. Dana and Danny both gulped. T.J., Carlos, Lucas and Damon dropped into defensive stances. Maya's gaze immediately went to Tanya, who the group had informally dubbed the leader. "Where's Kimberly?" Tanya hissed at Mesogog.  
  
Mesogog merely smiled at her. "Safe. Whether she remains that way is solely up to you." The group's shoulders suddenly dropped. He had them right where he wanted them. "If you'll follow me, you'll see exactly what I've been doing with your friend."  
  
Reluctantly, the group resolved themselves to following him to find Kim.

* * *

Back at the arena, the group of friends reluctantly looked over the matchboard that Ms. Lola had with her. They would compete against everyone present in a best two of three set. All of the matches were fascinating to watch, but the competition of hand to hand took all day. However, there were a few memorable moments.  
  
One of the biggest upsets of the competition came as Aisha and Rocky were facing one another. Rocky had won the first match, and Aisha had taken him in the second, but it was the third that surprised the others.  
  
"Come on Rocky!" Zack cheered as Billy and Adam shot him glances. The pair had already finished their match, with Adam winning, so they'd been put in charge of scoring Rocky and Aisha's.  
  
Tommy watched on with a sense of mirth as Aisha evaded Rocky's every attack. 'She still remembers all our training as Ninjetti' he thought as her movements took him back to when they'd first had that power. However, he could also see why Rocky was getting his butt kicked. The former red and blue ranger kept taunting his yellow counterpart, so much so that Aisha, from the look Tommy saw on her face, was determined to beat Rocky at his own game.  
  
"WHOA!" Adam gasped as he, Tommy, Billy and Zack winced when Aisha pinned Rocky's ass to the ground.  
  
"Point for Aisha, who wins by the way," Billy tried to contain his laughter at the former red and blue ranger, who was currently sitting under one hundred and ten pounds of solid, skilled Aisha, who couldn't keep a grin off her face. He failed. Billy bent over, laughing until he was red in the face. Adam and Zack both bit their lips as they watched Rocky looking up at his girlfriend.  
  
Rocky felt like crawling in a deep, dark hole to hide from the smile Aisha was giving him. It had been a long time since she'd wiped the floor with him; in fact, the last time she'd actually done it had been right before Kimberly had left the team, when she and Kim had been trying to prove a point to him and the others. "Damn Sha, couldn't you leave the man a little more pride?" Jason quipped as Aisha turned to glare at him.  
  
"That's what he gets for thinking his girlfriend is a wimp. He forgot I trained just like him before we joined the team," Aisha grinned as she sat on Rocky's stomach and looked down at him. Her glare was enough to have the former red ranger wincing. "And that I continued with that training after joining said team. Just because I've spent the last seven years as a civilian, doesn't mean that I've lost what I learned."  
  
Adam shook his head. "Man, Rocky, got your ass kicked by a girl, and not just any girl, your best friend and girlfriend to boot." With that, all of the girls turned to glare at the former black and green ranger. "Not that that's a bad thing."  
  
"Adam, stop while you're ahead," Conner sagely gave the older man advice. "Trust me, any more and you'll be eating your shoe for dinner." Adam nodded, and then the group broke off into more pairs to finish the matches.  
  
As expected, Tommy and Jason's match was one the entire team stopped to watch. Conner, Kira and Ethan had never see anyone who could match Dr. O blow for blow, not until Jason. The pair moved in perfect sync, each able, even after being away from each other for so long, to counteract and predict the other's move. At the end of three matches, it was determined that the pair shared the only tie of the day.  
  
By the end of the day, the standings were thus: Ethan 2 wins 9 losses; Kira 5 wins 6 losses; Conner 3 wins 8 losses; Tommy 10 wins, 0 losses, 1 tie; Jason 9 wins, 1 loss, 1 tie; Rocky 9 wins 2 loses; Adam 8 wins 3 losses; Aisha 7 wins 4 losses; Trini 5 wins 6 losses; Billy 4 wins 7 losses, Kat and Zack 2 wins and 9 losses a piece.  
  
As Ms. Lola was going over the scores, both Tommy and Jason frowned as they got a look at the last two. They'd expected both Kat and Zack to better than that. Without really thinking, the two ex leaders went off to speak to their teammates, Jason choosing Zack and Tommy choosing Kat.  
  
"Want to talk about it?" Tommy asked as he sat down on the bench next to Kat, who had her face buried in her hands. Her shoulders shook slightly. Tommy leaned over and ran a soothing hand down her back, knowing she needed time to compose herself.  
  
"I did so great the other day," she started, turning to look at him. His face showed his surprise that she was crying, eyes red and water trails spanning her cheeks. "I just couldn't concentrate today. It's not like I didn't know what I was doing; I know how to fight, I know what I'm capable of. But all I kept seeing was one of my best friends getting kidnapped by an ugly goon."  
  
Tommy's features softened as he pulled her to him, hugging her tightly. While they had parted many years before on amicable terms, he still cared deeply for her, and would even venture to say he loved her, as much as anyone could love someone who was just like a sister. 'Yeah, sister, right. This is coming from a guy who dated her' he thought. It was ironic he'd use that term with Kat, when so many years before something similar had been said of him in regards to Kimberly. However, his mind reasoned, he and Kat, while they had dated, had never been truly close. He'd been too wrapped up in his own problems with Kim and the team, and Kat herself had been just as reserved when they were together. "I'm going to get eliminated, aren't I?" she asked a few moments later as she watched Jason across the field talking to a pissed off Zack.  
  
Tommy wanted to lie to her, but when she looked up at him with THAT look in her eyes, he knew he couldn't. "More than likely, it's gonna be you and Zack, who knows how many of the others. Anton isn't exactly playing by the rules anymore."  
  
Kat nodded, settling back onto the shoulder of her 'brother'. 'That's a funny term to give him, since we did date' Kat thought ironically. 'But somehow, that term fits him better in regards to me then boyfriend ever did'. "That's alright. I just wish there was more I could do to help you guys get them, HER, back," she muttered as Tommy hugged her again.  
  
"You're doing more than enough. Stop worrying." Suddenly, the pair was beckoned to where the others were gathering.  
  
"Well?" Kat asked, wiping the tears from her eyes as she and Tommy joined the group circled around the newly arrived Anton.  
  
"Mr. James and Mr. Taylor have been eliminated from the next competition. They will be allowed to stay, but they will not be allowed to interfere, is that understood?" The two nodded. Kat shot Tommy a look. They were both wondering how exactly Kat had managed to scrap by in not getting counted out. "Good, now, I've had a feast prepared for you in the common room, and then my staff shall show you to your rooms." With that, Anton turned and began walking out of the room, the Rangers reluctantly following. Trini and Billy slung their arms around a depressed Zack, while Conner did the same with Ethan who currently had Kira hanging off his arm, and Jason wrapped a protective arm around Kat's waist as she snuggled close to him, quietly asking what he thought of the situation. Aisha and Rocky were also sharing a private conversation as they followed the group, arms wrapped around each other's waists. Only Adam and Tommy remained a few moments later.  
  
Adam titled his head to the side, watching Tommy, whose eyes were heavenward, staring up through the skylights in the arena to the stars beyond. "You ok?"  
  
Tommy didn't answer. Truthfully, he didn't have an answer. Tearing his gaze from the sky, he looked over at Adam, hoping to convey what he was feeling. "I know how you feel Tommy. You're empty without her; I'm the same way when Tanya and I aren't together, which is most of the time. However, I can only imagine how tough it's been for you these last eight years. You've probably had that feeling that entire time."  
  
Tommy nodded. Adam understood him more than he thought his friend would or could. "She's my other half, Adam, she has been since the moment I laid eyes on her," Tommy whispered. Adam had heard the story from Billy when he, Aisha and Rocky had first joined the team. They'd been talking about the adventures of the original team, while watching Tommy show Kim a meditation exercise in the Youth Center, and the story of how the pair had come to be a couple had come out. "I ache so much right now, not having her by my side when I spent the better part of the weekend having her there. And I'm afraid - afraid I'm not strong enough to save her, afraid I'm going to fail you guys, afraid of what Anton and Mesogog combined will do to those I hold dear."  
  
"Tommy," Adam started, as the pair turned and walked into the bowels of the arena. "As Rangers, we dealt with those fears on a daily basis. As a current Ranger, you still do. You can't honestly tell me it's a new feeling for you."  
  
Tommy shook his head as the two followed the voices of their friends. As they walked through the doors of the locker room to start showering and changing, he answered. "No, but this time it's more powerful, more urgent, then it's ever been."

* * *

The group entered the semi lit room single file. There was a table set up in the middle where Tyrano-drones hovered over whatever was on it. Near the control panel, was Elsa, aka Biker Chick, typing in some sort of command into the keyboard. Mesogog let Zeltrax watch over the rangers as he moved toward the table. "Ms. Hart, I believe you have some guests." At the sound of his voice, the Tyrano-drones immediately moved away from the table, revealing a tied down Kimberly, who struggled to get free.  
  
"Guys!" she cried out. The others weren't sure if she was surprised or happy that they were in the room. "LET ME GO!" she yelled as she attempted to free herself.  
  
Mesogog smiled. "Now, now, Ms. Hart, your friends are here to watch the show," he informed her, watching as she glared at him. For a moment, he hesitated, a feeling of relief that she was tied to the table flashing through him. 'If she was able, she would try to tear you apart' he thought, and then smiled. 'Not that that wouldn't be interesting, but she has no clue how fast I could kill her if I wanted'.  
  
"Kim," Tanya and Justin called to their struggling friend, hoping their voices would calm Kimberly down.  
  
The former pink ranger looked up at the morphed rangers and blinked. "Tanya? Justin?" she asked, her hope soaring a bit.  
  
"Just calm down Kim, struggling isn't going to do any good right now," Justin murmured. It had been a long time since he'd seen the woman who held his friend's heart. "The others are still out there, they'll get us out."  
  
Mesogog, Elsa and Zeltrax's laughter made the Rangers wince. "You think you're pathetic friends can save you from my master?" Zeltrax asked, amusement clearly evident.  
  
"Elsa, is it ready?" Mesogog asked as the woman nodded, a dark smile playing across her features. "Good, then begin."  
  
The Rangers watched in shock as the laser that was pointed at the table where Kim lay began to glow. "NO!" the group cried out, shaking off the restraining hands of the Tyrano-drones. Justin and Tanya dove for Kimberly, while the others engaged the Tyrano-drones. Zeltrax and Elsa jumped forward, blocking the two Rangers from getting far.  
  
"Get out of my way!" Tanya growled as she parried and threw punches at Zeltrax.  
  
Zeltrax merely laughed. "Not until my master's plan is set into motion. You will join your friend when this is all over."  
  
Justin had a strict rule about hitting girls, he didn't. You never, ever hit a girl. Heck, even sparing with Kat and Tanya all those years ago he'd not wanted to do so. However, there were times, like now, when he made an exception to the rules. Instead of firing back his own punches at Elsa, he merely deflected hers and attempted to subdue her by more peaceful means. Elsa had other plans, as she tried to kill Justin's honor and get him to hit her back. "You're too much like that pathetic Tommy for your own good," Elsa spat at Justin.  
  
"You know what, I don't have time for this, my friend needs me." With that, Justin did a super leap over Elsa, his hands on her shoulders, and landed behind her. He then gave her a slight push, knocking her off balance and into Zeltrax, causing the two to tumble to the floor in a pile of arms and legs.  
  
"KIM!" Tanya called as she and Justin surged forward. Even with the speed they drew from the powers they held, they were too late to stop Mesogog.  
  
The laser's energy beam had engulfed Kimberly's entire body, causing her to glow a dull pink. "Let her go, Dino-trash!" Justin growled. He and Tanya watched as Mesogog stood off to the side, smirking at them.  
  
"And now, the final preparations of my plan have been completed!" Mesogog called as the group, having defeated the Tyrano-drones, watched the restraints that had held Kim to the table snap, the former Pink Ranger's body levitating.  
  
"Oh my god," T.J. muttered as the group watched Kim's body go vertical. The look on her face, as the pink glow stopped, was one of pure serenity. "Kimberly?"  
  
When Kim's eyes snapped open, both Tanya and Justin shuttered. They'd only seen that look on her face once before, and that had been the first time they'd met her as Turbo Rangers. "Dear god, not again," Tanya prayed as Justin shook his head.  
  
"Look what we have here?" Kim's voice was laced with every emotion that she'd fought against as a Power Ranger - hate, anger, rage. "Pesky power brats."  
  
"Allow me to introduce to you, my champion," Mesogog murmured delightfully as Kimberly's feet touched the ground. Her civilian clothes were gone, in their place a black and pink replica of the Dino Thunder Rangers' uniforms.

* * *

After dinner, the group of competing Rangers had been shown to what looked like dorm rooms. "He can't honestly think we're going to sleep here," Kira asked as she, Kat, Aisha and Trini started to settle down in their room.  
  
"Kira, face it, we're stuck until this is over with," Aisha yawned, slipping under the covers of her bunk, which was over Kat's.  
  
Kat yawned along with her. "Aisha's got a point. However, I think we should all take turns keeping watch, incase someone gets it into their head to mess with us." All eyes turned toward the now silent Trini, who sat on her bunk, just under Kira's, eyes closed, breathing even.  
  
"I'll take first watch," Trini's voice slurred slightly, causing both Aisha and Kat to raise eyebrows in question. "I'm alright, you guys just pulled me from some meditation. Go to sleep, I'll wake the next person up in two hours."  
  
While the girls were drifting off to sleep, the guys were holding conversations of their own as they attempted to doze off. "Can I ask you three something?" Rocky questioned Conner, Ethan and Tommy, all of whom he was sharing a room with.  
  
"What is it Rocko?" Tommy yawned as he attempted to get comfortable. He was missing his bed, he was missing his room, but most of all, he was missing having a certain someone asleep next to him. 'Got to shake this melancholy attitude, Oliver' he chided himself. 'She only spent a few nights with you, who knows what is going to happen after this is all over'.  
  
"You've all met the big baddie, right?" Rocky asked, receiving three yawns and head nods in reply. "What's his deal?"  
  
Conner and Ethan laughed as Tommy rolled his eyes. "Dude, I wish we could tell you..." Ethan half yawned half explained.  
  
"What do you mean, you wish you could tell me? I thought..."  
  
"Rocky," Conner started. "If we knew anymore then what we've already filled you in on, we would tell you, but we don't know his motives, we don't know his plans, and we've got no indication to why he's here."  
  
"You know, I was just thinking," Ethan started, sitting up as his thoughts came to a screeching halt. "Is it just me or does Mr. Mercer remind you guys of Mesogog a little?"  
  
Both Tommy and Conner's interest was peaked, as they both instantly sat up at Ethan's comment. "Now that you mention it," Conner started to say, only to be cut off by Tommy.  
  
"Mesogog showed up on the island all those years ago about the time Anton disappeared," Tommy replied, his mind working in over drive. "It couldn't be possible, could it?"  
  
Rocky gulped. If his thoughts were the same ones Tommy was having, they were in some serious trouble. "Tommy, you're a Power Ranger, anything's possible," Rocky reminded his friend once the shock of the implications of Tommy's train of thought wore off.  
  
Tommy laughed bitterly. "Don't remind me."

* * *

"Oh no, Kim," Maya whispered as the group watched their friend and fellow former Ranger stand with Mesogog in front of them.  
  
The dark Ranger sneered at them. While her body was not under her control, her mind was clear of what was happening. 'Not again!' she whined to herself. The last time she'd been turned to the dark side had been on the mission that had led the Zeo Rangers to their Turbo powers. 'What is it with you jumping ship Kim' she scolded herself, wrestling with the spell she was under to get control of her body, to no avail. 'Zordon chose you all those years ago for the heart of goodness you had, how the hell did this happen AGAIN?' she mentally screamed at herself. Her physical body, however, was paying no mind to the inner turmoil. "Oh yes, Yellow Ranger," she muttered to the younger girl, watching as a mask fell over Maya's serene face. The former Yellow Ranger closed herself off.  
  
'Best not to let her know her words hurt' Maya thought to herself. As she took a mental step back from the goings on, her eyes and her thoughts immediately turned to Justin and Tanya. Both of them stood with their shoulders slumped, showing their disbelief at what had happened to their friend. Maya wanted nothing more than to comfort her friends, but knew now was not the time to do so.  
  
Maya watched on in shock as Mesogog stepped forward, touched Tanya and Justin who were protesting his actions, and watched as the Yellow and Blue Zeo rangers de-morphed. Mesogog then reached down and wrenched off their morphers. "I'll keep these for the time being," he told them as Zeltrax, Elsa and the Tyrano-drones made swift work of shackling the Rangers again, this time Tanya and Justin with them. "We wouldn't want my team to get away, now would we?"  
  
"Team? You think we're gonna work for you?" Carlos questioned as Zeltrax grabbed him by his shirt collar, holding him still as Mesogog flew forward, getting in the former Green and Black Ranger's face.  
  
"If you don't want to watch your friends die, you will cooperate."  
  
"Like hell we will," Tanya suddenly roared, elbowing Elsa in the stomach and wrenching herself free of the shackles. The others followed her lead, causing yet again havoc in the room. Knowing that she and Justin needed to get the others to safety, both of them jumped forward, snatching their morphers away from a shocked and confused Mesogog. While the others caused a distraction, they morphed. Turning to help their friends, the pair noticed as both Maya and Damon had morphed, as had Wes and Lucas. With six rangers, the Tyrano-drones, Zeltrax and Elsa were soon running from the room, leaving Mesogog and Kimberly to face the group.  
  
"We have to get back to the others," Justin spoke as Tanya nodded. She really didn't want to leave without Kimberly, but staying any longer was endangering those Rangers without powers. "Tanya?"  
  
Shaking her head, Tanya started to back away from Mesogog and Kim. "Retreat," she whispered through the oncoming tears as Kimberly and Mesogog smiled, then lunged at the back pedaling Rangers.  
  
As soon as Tanya and Justin had backed out of the room, T.J. hit the switch next to the door that he'd found. The doors instantly closed and locked. The group stood there for a moment, then followed as Tanya and Justin led them back toward where the cycles were waiting. "Hayley, this is Tanya, do you read?"  
  
"Go ahead Tanya."  
  
"We've got some problems, I'll explain later, but right now, I need you to help me and Justin open a portal back." Tanya rounded a series of corners following Justin, all the while trying to figure out just how the group was about to get out of the den of evil that was the Island Fortress.  
  
Hayley was silent. She could only imagine what kind of trouble had come up, but decided not to question Tanya on it until she and Justin and whoever was with them were safe and sound back at the lair. "There's one open near the cycles. All you have to do is go through."  
  
"Thanks. See you in a few, I hope," Tanya finished as the group rounded the last corner, seeing the two cycles ahead in front of the invisi-portal. "You guys go through, we'll follow you," Tanya commanded as the group jumped through. She and Justin hopped on the Raptor cycles and then went through, seconds before Mesogog and Kimberly burst around the corner.

* * *

"Go ahead Hayley," Tommy spoke when the beeping of his communicator interrupted the conversation he was having with Conner. Both Ethan and Rocky had fallen asleep some time before.  
  
"Tommy, we've got some problems, big problems," Hayley started. The tone of her voice set off Tommy's internal warning bells.  
  
Shooting a glance over at Conner, he wet his lips before replying, "What kind of problems?"  
  
"Mesogog's got Kimberly still," a new voice, distinctively Tanya's, spoke. Conner watched as Tommy went pale.  
  
"What else?"  
  
There was a long pause as Tanya, Hayley, and whoever else was there tried to think of a way to tell Tommy what had happened. "Tommy," Justin spoke, his voice broken. "He's turned her against us."

* * *

The group of ex and current Rangers filed out onto the field, silent and apprehensive. Tommy had shared the news he and Conner had received the night before with them. If Mesogog had managed to turn Kimberly against them, and had given her powers like the Dino Thunder Rangers, the group knew their battle had just gotten one problem larger. "Long night, my friends?" Anton asked as he walked onto the field, his voice light and cheery. The Rangers stared at him like he'd grown another head.  
  
"Look, let's just get this over with," Jason growled; only retreating when Kat gently placed her hand on his forearm. When he turned to stare at her, she shook her head, her face telling him not to start in on their host.  
  
"Testy this morning, are we? Well, shall we?" Anton motioned for the group to follow him. They walked across the expanse of the field to where the maze was set up. "Your next test is the maze. Inside, you will face a bevy of challenges. In order to pass, you must reach the middle in two hours. You'll be going in groups of two, at different entrances."  
  
The group looked up at the massive structure that was the maze. It was nearly a story tall, smooth, and made of black stone. "The teams are thus," Anton spoke, catching the rangers' attentions. "Mr. DeSantos and Mr. Park, Dr. Oliver and Ms. Hilliard, Ms. Campbell and Dr. Cranston, Ms. Kwan and Ms. Ford, and Mr. Scott and Mr. McKnight."  
  
Ten minutes later, each pair was set up at a different entrance to the maze, with Zack and Ethan watching on. As Anton gave the signal, the doors opened. Just as the teams started to step inside, he announced, "Oh, and if you're captured, you're automatically eliminated." With that the doors closed behind them with a resounding thud. "Two hours, and the time begins now," with that, Anton turned and walked away, leaving Zack and Ethan hopelessly waiting for their friends.

* * *

Ok, if you can tell me why I paired the groups the way I did for the maze, I'll make you some graphics for your website (if you have one). Just a hint though, the pairings allude to something that will be happening in the final battle of the story, and it has to do with something from the past. 


	7. Chapter 6: Maze Of Memories

Hi! ::ducks in coming projectiles:: I know, I know, it's been a long time since I updated...I wanted to wait until White Thunder was over and I had to tweak this chapter quite a few times.

A quick shout out goes to Jang the DEFENDER and Lessa Solarem for being my beta-readers ::gives them a round of applause:: The two of them really helped me with this.

Just so you know, it won't take me a month to put out the next chapter, promise. So, without further ado, nearly a month and twenty-two pages later, here's chapter 6!

Ranger Games: A Dino Thunder Reunion

Chapter 6: A Maze Of Memories

By: Pink-Green-White-4ever

Last Revised: May 17, 2004

Email: see profile

Website: see profile

"When I saw you I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew" - From Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

* * *

One Week Before

He felt nauseous, his skin was clammy, and he couldn't get the cursed band off his wrist. 'Dad, what did you do to me?' he thought of the thing in his father's office, the thing that had sent him to some weird place, where this band had attached itself to his arm. After that, he couldn't remember much of anything. Something about Power Rangers...

"Look what we have here," a sickeningly sweet voice called, causing him to turn.

"Who are you?" he asked, his vision blurring as he saw double of the woman before him and his throat suddenly going dry. There was a ball of fear in the pit of his stomach.

"Someone who can help you," she grinned evilly as he dropped to the ground, unconscious, the new powers having finally caused his body to give out on him.

* * *

The Present

After the Rangers had escaped, the newly morphed Pink Ranger stood to the side of Mesogog's throne, watching him lash out at Elsa and Zeltrax. "You two are incompetent," he growled at them. "I suppose if I want something done right, I'll have to send my Rangers."

"Ranger, my lord," the Pink Ranger spoke, watching as Mesogog smiled.

"No, my dear, Rangers. Come forth, my White Ranger!" he called out, and watched as his Pink Ranger stiffened when the White Dino Thunder Ranger walked forward. "Allow me to introduce you to my White Ranger."

The Pink Ranger nodded curtly to her white counterpart. The last time she'd seen a White Ranger had been...shaking her head, she let the memory dispel. 'No use thinking about that now, you have a job to do' she thought as she eyed the male Ranger.

* * *

Only the moon and an occasional blast of lighting lit the room. She stood next to the window, eyes staring out at the expanse of island and ocean before her, her gaze blank.

Physically, she was the embodiment of everything she'd ever fought against.

Mentally and emotionally, she was still the bright, pink light that Zordon had chosen as a member of his original team. The same pink light that had helped, on numerous times, bond the power team together in the face of their greatest challenges.

As Kim struggled to regain control of her physical body, to get rid of Mesogog's influence over her, she felt her new partner enter the room. "What do you want?" her voice hissed as her counterpart stood next to her.

"To get to know my teammate, my counterpart," he fired back. He didn't want a teammate, but Mesogog had talked him into it. Besides, she was something to admire when she wasn't in uniform, like now. She wore a pair of white short shorts, a black sports bra and a pink tank top.

Kim turned to glare at the white clad man before her. She still hadn't seen his face, as he hadn't let go of his powers since she'd met him earlier. As his comment reached her ears, she snorted in amusement. "Sorry Dino Boy, I work alone," she muttered as he reached out, grabbed her arm and spun her to face him.

"You speak treason," he growled as she shot him a look.

"I speak the truth, I speak my mind," she told him as she wrenched her arm out of his hold. "You just remember, I was a Ranger when you were still in grade school, don't mess with me!" she hissed before she stormed out of the room.

* * *

"So it's true?" Tanya questioned as Hayley entered the lair. All of the Rangers rescued from the Island Fortress were staring at their new friend in confusion.

Hayley nodded. "Trent and Principal Randall are missing, and now everyone thinks Kira, Conner and Ethan are too." The entire city was in a panic over the mysterious disappearances of the four teens and their principal. "Not to mention people are starting to talk about Tommy's sudden leave of absence."

Justin grunted at that. "Let them talk, it's not the first time."

"No, it's not," Cam spoke, his voice that of reason. "But it could ruin Dr. Oliver's career and reputation. Hayley, what are we to do?"

Shaking her head, the frustrated woman turned toward the former Green Samurai and shrugged. "There's nothing we can do. I talked to Tommy this morning after he had time to digest the news about Kim. He wants all of you to head home."

"No." All eyes turned toward where Carter and Dana stood near the stairs.

"What do you mean no, Carter?" Hayley asked. She watched as the former Red Ranger looked down at his girlfriend, who nodded, and then watched him look up at her, his eyes full of determination.

"While the others are doing what they need to with Mercer, we're going to rescue Kim. Dana and I aren't leaving until she's safe."

Tanya watched the scene unfolding with a ball of fear in her stomach. These young former and current power holders were determined, each and every one of them, to save their friend. "It's too dangerous."

"In case you've forgotten," Dana pointed out, a smile lighting her face. "There are four other Rangers besides you and Justin. You have a full team."

"You never asked for this fight," Justin started until Carlos started laughing at him. "WHAT?"

"Did any of us ever ask to become Rangers?" Carlos asked as all of the Rangers shook their heads. "Exactly. We never asked for this, but we've made do with what we've been given. We've struggled through personal and professional problems, but the constant we've always had has been being Rangers. It gave us a family, even if we were all on different teams."

Dustin smiled and jumped in. "Carlos is right, man," he started. "Jason, Zack, Trini, Billy and Kimberly were given the choice to accept or to decline, and I'd like to think that their actions resulted in the standards that each of us have followed over the years. They set the stage, whether directly or indirectly for all of us to be together."

T.J. and Lucas smiled. "I think what Dustin and Carlos are trying to say is," Lucas started as he grabbed everyone's attention. "Is that, powers or not, we're here to help any way we can." Wes, Alyssa, Danny, Maya and Damon nodded in agreement.

Tanya's gaze went to every face in the room. Each burned with the passion and strength and hope that formed the Ranger legacy; that formed Zordon's legacy. "Are you all in agreement with this?" Tanya asked. All the others nodded while Justin protested.

"Tanya, you can't be serious about letting them go with us!" When Justin saw his older friend's face, he knew he had lost long before.

Hayley merely watched the Rangers, and smiled through the tears that pricked the back of her eyes, thinking back to one of the many conversations she'd had with Tommy about the being who had given five earthlings the power to protect their planet. 'I can only imagine how proud Zordon would be of the ones he chose, and the ones they chose' she smiled, swiping her eyes with the back of her hand before turning to get working on the computer end of the plan she knew Tanya was forming.

"It's settled. Those of us with powers," Tanya started, her stance allowing no arguments. "Will go and free Kimberly if all possible, those of us without, are to go join the other Rangers and inform them of the situation. Agreed?" When the Rangers nodded in silent agreement, Tanya turned to Hayley. "Hayley?"

"Already working on it."

* * *

The two girls moved along slowly, the only light coming from the evenly spaced torches lining the walls. "Trini, I should have told you this earlier," Kira started as the pair found themselves with a fork in the maze.

"What Kira?" Trini asked, turning to smile at the young yellow ranger.

"I hate mazes," she whispered as she Trini stopped. The older girl nodded. "They make me feel so enclosed in. I can't even go through a corn maze during Halloween."

Trini nodded and turned to face her young friend. "I'll let you in on a little secret; all of us have fears like that. Mine is heights," Trini informed Kira, the latter watching the far away expression that stole over Trini's face.

"Let me guess, Rita took advantage of that on more than one occasion?" Trini laughed.

"Yep. Had to climb a mountain to save the others, freaked the hell out of me," Trini spoke, pointing toward the left. There were strange noises coming from the right. "Did you know Zack's scared of spiders?" Kira smiled and laughed. "Billy's scared of fish. I'm not completely sure what Jason's scared of, but Kimberly has had problems with spinning wheels since we became Rangers."

"Spinning wheels? Like the ones used to make wool?" Kira asked as Trini nodded.

The two walked down another long corridor and found themselves at another crossroads. "Yeah. We were doing a play, can't remember if we were freshman or sophomores by then, but Kim borrowed her grandmother's spinning wheel because we needed it. Rita basically cast a spell on it."

Kira cringed. "That doesn't sound like fun."

"It wasn't. Even Tommy's got fears," Trini spoke. "I think his biggest, other than losing Kim again, is probably having our enemies turn him to the side of evil again."

"Again?"

Trini nodded. "Tommy started out as the Evil Green Ranger, and if memory serves correct, Jason mentioned something about him getting kidnapped as the Red Zeo or Turbo ranger...but my memory's kinda fuzzy on that."

Kira was silent and thoughtful for a moment. "I can't imagine Dr. O being scared of anything."

Trini stopped, her gaze serious as she looked to Kira. "We all have fears, it's a natural part of who we are. Now, come on," with that, Trini stepped forward, only to be thrown back against Kira.

Both girls landed with a thud, eyes darting up to see what was standing in front of them. A group of Tyranno-drones weaved back and forth, not attacking, but not retreating either. "Just what we don't need," Kira muttered as the two stood, only to have the Drones surge forward.

"Let's rumble," Trini huffed as she and Kira blocked the on-coming attacks.

* * *

Conner watched Jason creep along the darkened hallway just in front of him. Neither had said a word since they'd entered the maze; neither had to say a word, they seemed to instinctively know each other's thoughts. Finally, the silence got to Conner. "Jason?"

"Hmm?" the ex-ranger asked as he stopped in the hallway, his gaze turning to take in Conner's weary stance.

Conner looked at his predecessor, the original Red Ranger, and for a moment felt the world tilt. How in the hell was he supposed to live up to not only Jason, but also Rocky, Dr. O, and every other Red Ranger that had come before him? "Conner, what's wrong?" Jason asked, watching the emotions clearly show on Conner's features.

"Do you ever regret becoming a Ranger?"

Jason raised one eyebrow at that. There were lots of things he'd either done or hadn't done in his life that he regretted, but was being a Power Ranger one of them? "Honestly?" Jason asked, Conner nodded. "Right this instant, no. If you'd asked me that a few years ago, the answer would have probably been yes."

"Why?"

Jason's smile was a wry one. "A couple of years ago, my life had absolutely no meaning, I had no goals. I thought that because I'd spent the best part of my high school career battling space aliens and going to a peace conference that I'd lost those special things like making new friends and figuring out what I wanted out of life." Jason stopped, his expression one that told Conner he was back in his memories. "Right now, I like who I am, I like that I spent the best years of my life fighting for what I believe in. I may have not made very many new friends, but as a Ranger, I have a group of close knit friends that I couldn't see I had until they'd been taken from me. I served two terms as a Ranger, Conner, both at Zordon's request, and I don't regret a single minute of it. I don't think I'd be who I am if I hadn't."

Conner nodded. In a strange way, he understood exactly where Jason was coming from and what he was talking about. "Do you regret giving up your soccer dreams for being a Ranger?"

Conner blinked. So Dr. O had said something about those first few months to the older Rangers. "At first I kind of did, but as things have progressed, I think I've finally figured out that while I love soccer, I love making a difference in the lives of complete strangers even better. Besides, who says I can't still play soccer when my time as a Ranger ends."

Jason laughed. "You've learned that lesson a lot earlier then some of us," Jason spoke. Conner knew immediately that the former red and gold ranger was talking about himself, Trini, Zack, and Kimberly.

Smiling, the pair took a step forward. Just as they did, Jason cried out as the red beam along the floor connected with his ankle. "JASON!" Conner cried, watching his partner hit the floor.

"Conner, WATCH IT!" Jason hollered, as both boys saw the redness of the laser beams. "DAMN!"

"Jas, you alright?" Conner asked as he crouched down. The younger Ranger swallowed hard when he saw the blood oozing from Jason's left ankle and onto the floor. "You're bleeding," Conner murmured, stripping off his red flannel shirt and leaning forward to help Jason tie it around the wound.

Jason winced when Conner wrapped the flannel around his ankle, but knew that the bleeding needed to be stopped before they could continue. "We're stuck here, look how many lasers there are." Jason's words lanced through Conner, making the young Ranger nervous.

"With my speed skills, I might be able to get past them."

"Yeah, but I'm not any where near your level, Speedy," Jason pointed out as Conner nodded. "We're gonna have to take this slow and easy, and pray there aren't any more surprises waiting for us up ahead."

Conner grimaced. "Fat chance of that happening."

* * *

Aisha glanced at Billy nervously. He'd been pretty talkative for the last couple of days, and now he was stone cold silent, a fact that was making her nervous. "Billy?" she whispered as he turned to look at her. He looked to be deep in thought, but smiled that unique Billy-smile when he saw the worried expression on her face.

"I'm alright Aisha, just thinking about the possibilities," he whispered, reaching out to grasp her hand. Aisha smiled up at him, squeezing the hand that was giving her comfort. The pair hadn't been extremely close as Rangers, but they had one thing clearly in common - their shared friendships with Kimberly.

"What do you suppose he's gonna throw at us?" Aisha bit her lip when Billy's expression darkened.

"I don't know." As soon as the words left Billy's mouth, the hallway where the two stood suddenly filled with a green gas. Quickly, the made to cover their mouths and noses, but the gas was already affecting them. In a few seconds, both dropped to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

"Adam?" Rocky asked. The hallway they were in was dark; there were no lights to guide their way.

Rocky heard the grunt and the thump, signaling that Adam had walked into the wall. "What Rocky?" Adam grumbled.

"You ok?" Rocky ventured as Adam sighed.

"Not really. I just ran into a wall. I'm a little sore now," Adam all but whined. "What do you think they're gonna do to us in here?"

"Frog-man, your guess is as good as mine," Rocky spoke before the torches along the wall flickered and they saw the green gas filling the hallway.

Adam had no time to protest as he and Rocky dropped to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

Tommy smiled in the dark. Kat's hand was clutching his own, her palm sweaty and clammy. "Nervous?" he asked her softly.

"What do you think?" was the sarcastic reply before Kat punched Tommy lightly in the arm. He chuckled as they crept down the hallway they were obviously in. "Tommy?"

"Hmm?" he asked, his senses alert but his attention on the woman clutching his hand.

"Do you think we're ever gonna escape being Rangers, or being associated with them?" Kat asked, surprising Tommy with her question.

Tommy mulled over that question for a few seconds. "Probably not. You know the old saying: once a Ranger, always a Ranger," Tommy murmured causing Katherine to sigh. "Why?"

Kat took a deep breath, not sure if she could voice her thoughts with words. "Because I wonder if we'll ever get normal lives. We've all given up so much, and even though there have been other teams after us, it seems like the twelve of us keep getting called back, time and again." Tommy could hear the frustration in her voice, along with the fear of their situation.

"I mean, look at you! You've been through four different Ranger colors, more than a half dozen Zords, and as many teams, but to top that all off, you've created Rangers!" Kat pointed out, causing him to wince at the near accusation in her voice. "Look at Jason, he's been red and gold, been captured by Divatox and turned against us and next to Kim, was the first one without question to agree to come here for this. Are we ever going to get a chance to be normal?"

Tommy had no answer for her. He had been about to say something when the two of the suddenly heard a hissing sound, followed by a peculiar smell. They had no time to react, as they were soon unconscious on the floor.

* * *

"I hate waiting," Ethan muttered as he paced back and forth in front of the maze where his friends were. He and Zack had been waiting for them for nearly a half hour now, and every minute that ticked by brought them one step closer to losing.

Zack could see Ethan's thoughts playing across his face clearly. It was pretty evident that the Blue Dino Ranger was having a problem waiting, and that the younger Ranger didn't think their friends were going to make it out in one piece. "Ethan, have a little faith," Zack told him. This was usually Kim's job, giving the pep talk to someone when things were the bleakest. Zack took a deep breath, hoping he could do the same. "You've got eight veteran Rangers inside, and your two friends, they'll make it out in time."

"Zack, they've only got an hour and a half left!" Ethan pointed to his watch. He'd set it to time them the minute the doors had shut and Mercer had walked away from the maze laughing.

"I know that, and a lot can happen in an hour and a half, trust me," Zack commented as one of the doors suddenly slid open.

* * *

"We've got an incoming transmission," Hayley informed Tanya, who was sitting at the console across from her.

"GUYS!" Tanya called up the stairs, causing the others to come down to see the incoming message. "Go ahead Hayley."

"Carter? Dana? You there?" the girl on the screen asked frantically.

Carter and Dana smiled before laughing. "Go ahead Kelsey," Dana told her yellow dressed friend as the group gathered around the screen.

"Where have you guys been?" Kelsey demanded as Dana grimaced.

"Long story. Do me a favor, do you have our morphers?" Carter cut in, watching Kelsey give him the 'DUH' look.

Nodding, Kelsey reached out in front of her, holding them up. "Yeah, we finished making the adjustments to them this morning. Why?" Kelsey squeaked when the two morphers disappeared, reappearing on Dana and Carter's arms a second later. "What's going on guys?"

"We're helping some friends. We'll be home as soon as we can, all right? Don't worry," Dana told her, watching Kelsey nod before Hayley ended the transmission.

"That makes eight of us," Carter started as Tanya smiled.

Turning back to the computer, Tanya brought up the game plan she'd been working on. "Now that Carter and Dana have their morphers, we're going to have to realign this," Tanya started. "Dana, you, Dustin, Alyssa, Danny and T.J. are to go help the others. Cam, Carlos, I want you to stay here and help Hayley. Carter, Maya, Damon, Wes, Lucas and Justin are coming with me to hopefully free Kim."

The group nodded to Tanya, understanding their assignments. "Let's move," Justin muttered as each group broke off.

* * *

"GUYS!" Zack and Ethan called when a squad of Tyranno-drones pushed Jason, Trini, Conner and Kira out of the maze door, disappearing when the four fell to the ground.

"Oh man!" Ethan muttered as he checked on Conner and Kira, who were just starting to come to.

Zack was frantic. He'd checked on Trini, who was semi-conscious, but Jason was bleeding and he wasn't moving at all. "JAS!" Zack cried, shaking his former leader and one of his best friends.

"His ankle," Conner muttered as Ethan helped him to a sitting position. Zack's eyes instantly went to Jason's ankles, where he saw Conner's shirt wrapped around one, and soaking with red liquid. Zack's heart jumped into his throat before the first aid skills he'd learned asserted themselves. Carefully, Zack undid the shirt and saw the hole going directly through Jason's ankle. Eyes wide, Zack turned to look at Conner.

"What happened?"

"Laser. Tried to stop the bleeding, but then we got jumped by Mesogog's goons," Conner's face scrunched up when he remembered the fight. Even though Jason had been injured, the former Red Ranger had kept fighting, not willing to leave Conner on his own against the Dino-rejects.

Both Kira and Trini had regained consciousness enough to move toward Zack and begin helping him with Jason. Kira peeled off the button down she wore over her tank top, handing it to Zack who wrapped it and Conner's back around Jason's ankle. "Is he gonna be ok?" Kira murmured when she saw the looks Trini and Zack were giving one another.

"Without medical attention, probably not," Zack muttered, seconds before a familiar whirling sound was heard. All eyes moved to the entrance to the arena, where a group of five now stood.

Dana wasted no time running to the fallen Rangers. "Who are you?" Trini asked as Kira shot Dana a surprised smile.

"Dana Mitchell, Pink Ranger, Lightspeed Rescue," Dana murmured as her attention immediately went to Jason's leg. "He's pretty banged up, isn't he?"

"T.J. Johnson, Red Turbo and Blue Space Ranger. This is Danny Delgado, Black Ranger, Wild Force; Alyssa Enrile, White Ranger, Wild Force; and Dustin Brooks, Yellow Ranger, Ninja Storm. Tanya sent us," T.J. informed the group, who smiled sadly. "How bad is Jason?"

Dana grimaced. "T.J., this is bad, he's gonna need to go to the hospital," she murmured when her fellow Ranger bent down next to her.

"We have a fully functional infirmary on premises," a new voice called, causing the Rangers to stare at the newly arrived man. Those who knew him, glared, those who didn't were weary of him.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Trini raged at him, her eyes burning with a fire that made Mercer shiver slightly.

"No, it's his own fault, Ms. Kwan," Mercer started. "If you'll follow me, I will show you to the infirmary."

"Dana, Danny, Zack and Trini, take Jason. The rest of us will wait for the others," T.J. told them, watching Danny stride forward and help Zack lift Jason. Trini and Dana followed the trio as they went toward Mercer.

* * *

Billy groaned. His head was spinning and he felt out of place. When he finally managed to open his eyes, he found he was not in the dimly lit hallway with Aisha, but in one very empty Command Center. Blinking rapidly, his mind started to think of the possibilities.

"Welcome Billy," the robotic sounding voice nearly brought tears to Billy's eyes. Struggling to his feet, Billy looked around the room for the owner of the voice, but found no one.

"Alpha?"

Suddenly the lights flickered off and on, and when they stopped flickering, Billy saw that not only was Alpha standing in front of him, but also Zordon's face had appeared in his time warp tube. "Alpha? Zordon?"

"Welcome, Blue Ranger."

* * *

"You good for nothing replacement!" the words were hissed, causing Aisha to shudder. Slowly, her eyes opened, the face in front of hers blurry for a moment before it cleared, revealing what Aisha could only begin to describe as a fire-breathing, very pissed off Trini Kwan.

Aisha's face showed her alarm at Trini's attitude. "Don't look so shocked, you upstart!" Trini growled as Aisha blinked at her. The Trini she knew had never, ever treated anyone like that. "I want my powers back, brat!"

Aisha's mouth dropped open when she took in where exactly the two of them were - the deserted Thunder Zord repair bay. "How?" Aisha gasped in shock.

* * *

Adam slowly brought a hand to his head, which was throbbing with a low, insistent headache. Of course, the constant pounding of metal in the room wasn't helping any. "Look who finally woke up!" the voice jeered.

Opening his eyes, Adam saw Carlos sitting across from him. Confusion set in as Adam's head snapped from side to side, looking around the room. "How did I end up in the Turbo Chamber?"

"I brought you here so we could have a little talk, Bro," Carlos growled as Adam looked at him like he'd mutated into one of Rita or Zedd's creations from back in the day.

"Carlos, what's wrong?"

Carlos laughed. Adam winced as his younger friend's voice came out sinister sounding. "Wrong? You dare ask me what's wrong?" Adam nodded. "YOU RUINED MY LIFE!"

* * *

Rocky blinked once, blinked again, and then did it once more. He was staring at the open casket, staring at the face of the body in the casket. All of sudden, he felt his stomach churn. Before he could relieve himself of the contents of his stomach, Rocky overheard the conversation being held not far from him. "Who's that?" a girl murmured.

"Rocky DeSantos, the one who gave up his position on the team so Justin could become a Ranger in the first place," another person, this one a guy, spoke scathingly.

"Oh, you mean the guy who killed Justin?" the girl questioned darkly.

Rocky's eyes widened as he stared down at Justin. "Oh God, Justin," he murmured as he looked down at his once lively young friend.

* * *

Kat stood staring at the group before her. She wasn't quite sure what was going on, but she knew the group before her well enough to know that they were pissed off, and for some strange reason, it was directed at her. "This is all your fault!" Aisha yelled as the teenager in yellow paced back and forth in front of Rocky and Adam.

"Excuse me?"

"If you hadn't taken Kim's power coin, none of this would have happened!" Rocky accused. Kat's mouth fell open. One minute she'd been standing in the hallway of the maze clutching Tommy's hand and the next minute she'd found herself back in time nearly eight years, standing in a private waiting room at Angel Grove General Hospital.

"Rocky's right," a voice, darkened with deep emotions floated across the room to Kat's ears. Turning, the blonde Australian found herself facing Tommy Oliver, looking the same way he had the day she'd met him. "Because of you, because of your actions, my girlfriend is lying in a hospital bed, fighting for her life!"

Kat could only stare at Tommy. 'This isn't how it happened!' she thought as she shook her head back and forth in denial.

* * *

"It is done, my Empress. Zordon's Power Rangers are dead! Killed by your Green Ranger!" Goldar roared as Rita's evil laughter and celebrating shocked Tommy out of his stupor. He looked down at what he was wearing, and instead of his khaki pants and black tee shirt, he was dressed in his first Ranger uniform.

Rita sashayed over to him, wrapping her arm through his as she stared up into his visor. "A job well done, my Green Ranger!" she laughed in that voice of hers that sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Tommy could only stare at her and nod. "Now, we start making plans for taking over the Earth!"

Tommy could only watch as Rita and her minions danced around the throne room of the moon palace. 'No!' his mind screamed as he tried to digest what had happened. 'This isn't how it ended!'

* * *

T.J., Alyssa, Ethan, Conner, Kira and Dustin sat in a semi-circle, watching the maze before them for any sign of life. "I hate waiting," Ethan murmured grouchily as the others nodded in agreement.

"What's going on?" Kira questioned as the group watched six colors - white, pink, black, red, yellow and blue - start to shine from the walls of the maze.

Conner looked over at the former Turbo/Space, Wild Force, and Ninja Storm Rangers and asked, "What does it mean?"

T.J. frowned. "Those are the six of the original Ranger colors," he started.

"All except Green," Alyssa pointed out as the others nodded.

* * *

"How much further?" Maya looked to Tanya who was looking down at the map in her hands.

"Not far. Two hallways up and one hallway to the left," Tanya spoke as she motioned for the others to press up against the wall as tight as possible when a guard walked past.

Justin, Lucas, Wes, Carter, and Damon stood not far behind the two girls, waiting for Tanya's orders. "Let's go!" Tanya muttered as the group surged forward into the next section of hallway.

* * *

The White Dino Thunder Ranger paced back and forth in his new quarters. Why had he agreed to work with the reject from The Land Before Time? 'Because he can help me get this thing off my arm!' the man in the white suit scolded himself. A thought struck him though - couldn't the current Power Rangers do the same? Obviously, they didn't march around in their Ranger uniforms every minute of every hour of every day, did they?

"You're thinking too hard," the voice, an annoying one of the female persuasion, commented as the White Ranger turned to see the intruder to his quarters. The figure decked out in black vinyl grinned evilly at him.

"Not something you'd know too much about, now is it?" the White Ranger fired back, watching the smirk disappear, replaced by a scowl.

Stepping forward, Elsa narrowed her gaze. "You can control the powers, you know," she started, watching him tilt his head to one side as he stared at her. "All you have to do is will the suit to disappear, just like you will your Zords to you."

"And if I do that, how do I get them back?" he fired back.

"The same way you let them go." So saying, Elsa turned and strode purposefully out of the room, leaving the White Ranger to ponder what she'd said.

* * *

She sat in the dark, in the corner of her quarters, barely breathing. She'd heard the commotion outside her doors some moments before. She knew Tanya and the others had come to rescue her. 'Why am I hiding in here?' she asked herself, knees drawn to her chest, head buried in her hands. 'Because you're afraid to face them after letting yourself fall again!' her mind reasoned as she heard the sounds of battle near her doors again.

'The Kimberly Hart I know wouldn't be cowering in the corner, frightened of her friends. The real Kimberly Hart would be doing all she could to break the hold Mesogog had over her and she'd be striving to save her friends!' her mind and heart fired back at her.

The glow started out small and then burst into a roaring nova as Kim felt the invisible barrier that had been surrounding her body suddenly crack into pieces. "Hang on guys!" Kim whispered as she pushed herself to her feet and lunged for the door, her morph blazing around her when she rushed through the now open doors and into the hallway, hoping to find her friends.

* * *

Tanya and Justin stood in shocked silence as they stared at the figure shrouded in white. "A White Dino Thunder Ranger?" Justin queried as the White Ranger chuckled and stood before them.

"Welcome back, weaklings," the White Ranger hissed, eyeing the seven Rangers before him.

"Where's Kimberly!" Damon growled as he and Maya dropped into defensive stances. Carter, Wes, Lucas, Justin and Tanya following them.

There was a sudden commotion, followed by the hallway hatch opening, revealing a panting Pink Dino Thunder Ranger. "Right here," Kim gasped when she saw her friends. Her body moved of it's own accord, settling next to the White Ranger. "You shouldn't be here, Rangers."

The seven-person team looked at their friend in shock. Kim sounded so different, not like she had the last time they'd see her and not quite like she had when she was normal. "Kim, let us help you," Tanya nearly begged, her heart going out to the first generation Ranger. "We're your friends."

"This isn't your fight," Kimberly murmured as the group dropped back, their stances showing their confusion.

"TRAITOR!" Elsa roared as she entered the hallway with a group of Tyrano-drones. "Both of you are traitors! Tyrano-drones destroy them!"

The ten drones surged forward, engaging the seven outside Rangers as both Kim and the White Ranger looked on. "I will finish you off, Yellow Zeo Ranger!" Elsa growled as she shot forward. For some unexplainable reason, the White Ranger's hand shot out, connecting with Elsa's chest, stopping her in her tracks. Kim looked on in shock, her body tingling. She didn't have complete control of herself yet.

"She's mine!" the White Ranger hissed, tossing Elsa off in Carter's direction as he turned to face Tanya. "Let's go, Yellow."

Tanya nodded. "You're on," she whispered as the two began to circle each other amidst the commotion in the hallway.

The others finished off the drones and either helped Carter with Elsa or turned to watch the White Dino Thunder Ranger and Yellow Zeo Ranger duke it out, one on one. The White Ranger managed to get close enough to Tanya to grab her arm and fling her back into the wall, causing her to sink to the floor in a daze. "Time to finish this!" the man in white growled just as he unhooked the saber at his side and conjured forth the powerful magic arrows that were his signature.

"TANYA!" Justin yelled in utter horror as the twelve arrows flew from in front of the White Ranger, making a beeline for the fallen Yellow Zeo Ranger.

"NO!" All eyes watched on in shock as a horrified Pink Ranger dashed forward, taking all twelve arrows in the back before they could come in contact with Tanya's fallen form.

Tanya stared, wide eyed, as Kimberly's morph dissipated, the power leaving her body, causing her to tumble to the ground. "KIMBERLY!" To Tanya, the sound of her own voice seemed so unfamiliar, like it wasn't her screaming at all for her fallen comrade. "NO! KIM!"

The injured Pink Ranger managed to shot her gaze up to Tanya's helmeted head. "Go!" she hissed through the pain.

"We're not leaving without you!" Wes called as he tried to make his way past Elsa, who Carter was still fighting, and to Kim's side.

"No, you have to go!" Kim coughed, blood pouring from her cracked lips. "Tanya, taken them and go! That's an order!" Kim cried out as her body started to seize up and glow a pinkish-white.

Without warning, the White Ranger surged forward and scooped Kimberly off the ground before signaling to Elsa to retreat. Before the Rangers' very eyes, the trio disappeared down the hallway, leaving them gaping in shock. "NO!" Maya screamed in rage, slamming a fist against the wall as despair engulfing her entire body.

* * *

Billy stared up at the floating face of the being that had chosen him, at the tender age of fifteen, to help his friends save the world. In all the time Billy had known Zordon, not once could he ever remember the look on the sage's face ever being this way. Zordon looked down right angry. Alpha 5 stayed in the corner across the room, muttering and shaking his head at the Blue Ranger. "Do you know why we've called you here, William?"

Billy blinked. Zordon had never called him by his entire first name, ever. "No Zordon, I don't. Will you please explain to me my reason for being here?"

"It has come to my attention that recently, you've been misusing the power I entrusted to you."

The grim look on Zordon's face was only eclipsed by the shocked look on Billy's face. He'd never used the Power for anything other than what Zordon had specified it be used for. "Zordon, I've never betrayed the Ranger Code, you know that!" Billy protested.

"The evidence states otherwise," Alpha finally spoke, causing Billy to swing around to face the small robot.

"Alpha!" Billy gasped in shock. "What evidence? I've always done just as you asked of me, both of you!" Billy's gaze flew back and forth between Zordon and Alpha 5, his brain trying to process exactly what was going on.

Zordon's face was a mask of stone as he stared on at the Blue Ranger. "The punishment for using the Power for personal gain is for it to be stripped from you. William Cranston, you are charged with breaking the sacred code of the Power Rangers. How do you plead?"

Billy didn't know what to think, didn't know what to say. 'This isn't real!' Billy's mind argued with him. Taking a moment to calm down, though he was faced with losing the Power he knew he'd lost some years before, Billy started a deep observation of the Command Center.

His carefully trained eye caught the sight of missing objects, panels placed on the wrong consoles, the distinguishable insignia that was on Alpha's chest appeared different. Billy finally realized that he wasn't in fact in the Command Center, with Alpha 5 and Zordon, as he had known them. "This isn't real. I know I never broke the trust Zordon had in me when it came to being a Ranger."

"Surely you jest!" Zordon bellowed.

"No, I don't. Alpha's lightning bolt insignia is wrong, the panels on the consoles are switched around, the devices I designed during my time as the Blue Morphin' Ranger are no where to be seen," Billy's face turned from upset to elated. He wasn't in the real Command Center. "But most of all, the Zordon I know wouldn't get upset like you are, just like he wouldn't not allow me to tell my side of the story. This isn't real."

And just like that, Billy found himself standing in the hallway of the maze, glowing the unearthly blue that had always accompanied his Ranger powers. Looking over, he saw Aisha still sprawled on the ground thrashing back and forth in the throes of whatever nightmare had descended on her. "AISHA!"

* * *

"I WANT MY POWERS BACK, NOW!" Trini roared as Aisha backpedaled along the floor until her back was straight against a wall. Aisha was still trying to digest what was going on with Trini.

"Trini, you gave me your powers when you went to the Peace Conference!" Aisha protested as the former Yellow Ranger stalked toward her.

Trini's eyes narrowed. "No, you tricked me into giving up my spot on the team!"

Aisha shook her head in disbelief. She hadn't even known Trini before the latter had entrusted her with the Yellow Ranger powers. "Trini, listen to me!" Aisha begged, ducking and rolling out of the way as one of Trini's fists came flying at her face.

"I did once, and ended up losing all that was important to me!"

Aisha finally found herself lying on her back, staring up at Trini who was preparing for another strike. "Trini! I didn't even know you when you passed your power to me!" Aisha hollered, eyes closing tightly as she waited for the strike to come. "You're the one who chose to go to the peace conference! You could have come home at any time and rejoined the team!"

"AISHA!" Billy's voice pulled her from the nightmare that she'd been in. Blinking rapidly, Aisha discovered that she was once again in the hallway of the maze with Billy, except this time she was glowing with the Yellow of the power she'd carried for nearly two years.

"Billy?" Aisha gasped out as her friend crouched next to her and helped her to a sitting position.

Billy smiled at her. "That must have been some dream," Billy commented dryly. He knew all too well that Aisha had been having the monster of all nightmares, just like he had.

Aisha shot him a death glare. "Try nightmare, and from the look on your face, you had one too."

"Zordon and Alpha accused me of misusing my powers." Aisha's eyes widened as Billy nodded.

"Trini accused me of taking her power, of tricking her into going to the Peace Conference and she wanted her powers back."

Billy looked at Aisha in shock. Trini had chosen to go, had chosen to give Aisha the power all those years ago. Trini had trusted Aisha, just as Zordon had, to carry on with the Yellow Ranger legacy. "Aisha, you know Trini wouldn't..."

"That's why I woke up. I know Trini would never accuse me of those things. The Trini I know chose to go to the Conference, knowing she'd be doing the same thing she had as a Power Ranger, even if in a different way. Just like you know Zordon would have never accused you of misusing the power he'd entrusted to you."

Billy nodded then looked down at his watch. "We've got ten minutes to find our way out of here!" Surging to their feet, the pair dashed off into the semi-lit center of the maze.

* * *

Adam stared on in utter disbelief as Carlos continued to go on and on about how becoming a Power Ranger had ruined his life - all the missed opportunities to play professional soccer that he had to give up, all the dates that he couldn't go on, how he'd been cut off from his friends in school when he'd had to go into space. "And you know what, Adam, ITS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Carlos snarled as he spun around to face Adam, who was tied to a chair.

"Carlos, listen to me," Adam's voice was steady, betraying nothing of what he was feeling inside. Was he really responsible for destroying Carlos' life?

"Why should I? The last time I listened to you, my life slipped right out of my fingers as I was forced into a duty I should have never had to do!" Carlos accused.

Adam nodded. "But that's just the point," Adam started. "You were given the chance to decide what you wanted - you could take the power and do good with it or you could ignore the call. You had every opportunity to walk away when Dimitria offered you the Green Turbo Powers."

"This is all your fault!" Carlos roared again, this time his hand flying out and connecting with the wall next to Adam's head.

"You can't blame me for your choices, Carlos. You knew what you were taking on when I handed you the Turbo Morpher," Adam informed him, trying to keep a level head even though Carlos had managed to scare Adam witless. "As far as the Space Ranger powers, I wasn't even around when you chose that."

"You started this all!"

"No, you chose to be a Ranger. I trusted you with the duty. I knew you could handle it."

"Whatever!" Carlos fired back, his hand shooting out to strike Adam.

The blow never came. Adam found himself sitting on the floor only a few feet from where Rocky was. "ROCKY!"

* * *

He felt sick. The scene before him was almost too much to bear. Even with the death and destruction he'd seen everyday as a Power Ranger, to see his young friend, lying silent and unmoving in the casket broke Rocky's heart. "Oh Justin!" he groaned as he looked down at the mop top headed kid who'd been given more responsibility then he should have ever had to know.

"This is all your fault, you know that don't you?" Rocky whirled around and stood face to face with...Justin?

"But?" Rocky started as he looked from the boy in front of him to the casket behind him. "How?"

The Justin before him laughed. "Haven't you ever heard of ghosts, Rocko?"

"Oh God, Justin, I'm so sorry!" Rocky groaned as he watched the evil glare cover his younger friend's face.

"You should be!" Justin hissed. "You ruined my life! You put your responsibilities on my shoulders and look what happened! I'm DEAD!"

Rocky stood there, his face shrouded in horror. Here Justin was, standing in front of him as a ghost. He knew the figure before him was spouting off this and that, accusing Rocky of heinous crimes but the one thought that Rocky couldn't shake was that this didn't feel real. It felt surreal. "I'm dreaming" Rocky started, closing his eyes. He knew he was dreaming. He'd just seen Justin before going to Mercer's stupid tournament. Justin was with Tanya, safe and alive.

"What do you mean, you're dreaming! I'M DEAD!! AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

"NO!" Rocky roared, his eyes opening. Instead of their normal brown they were a blazing red. "Justin's safe, he's with Tanya, and he's not eleven anymore. He's nearly nineteen, and he knows the perils of having the power! He's the one who volunteered to take my place on the Turbo team!" Rocky growled. The world started to spin for the former Ranger, until he felt himself start to hit the ground.

"ROCKY!" Adam's voice snapped Rocky from the dream.

Sitting up quickly on reflex, Rocky sat against the wall nearest to him, his chest heaving. His eyes took in the scene before him. Torches lighted the hallway now, but that didn't surprise him nearly as much as the black glow that surrounded Adam, who looked on in worry. "Rocky?"

"Adam, how much time do we have?" Rocky asked suddenly, pushing his experience dealing with the dream accusations to the back of his mind, instead choosing to focus on the task at hand. He and Justin were going to have a sit down heart to heart when they saw each other next.

"Ten minutes."

Rocky nodded and hurried to his feet. "Let's move!" The pair nodded once and then shot off down the hallway, both of them glowing, red and black respectively.

* * *

Blue eyes widened in shock as Tommy flung magazines across the room. Billy was the only one of the other five in the room who even dared near the extremely angry White Ranger. Kat could only stand near the wall and watch, as Billy talked to Tommy in hushed tones. The look on her best friend/ex-boyfriend's face told her enough not to even attempt to try and explain how she ended up in the past when she'd been in the maze with him in what she presumed was the future.

"Katherine Hillard?" a nurse asked as she entered the room, six pairs of eyes turning toward her.

"Y-yes?" Kat stuttered, relieved that someone had intervened.

"Ms. Hart would like to speak with you," the nurse gestured for Kat to follow her. She quickly looked over at the others, who were all standing there in shock that Kim would want to see Kat of all people before Tommy had even had a chance to see her. Gulping, Kat quickly stepped from the room, her long legs keeping an even pace with the nurse.

The room was filled with balloons, flowers and get-well cards. The window shades were thrown open, allowing sunshine to brighten the sterile setting. "Kim?"

The petite brunette laying comfortably on the bed turned her head toward the sound of her name, smiling when she saw Kat. "Hi," Kim quipped.

"Five minutes, Ms. Hart," the nurse sternly warned before she left the two girls to themselves.

Kat walked toward the bed, just as nervous as she had been the first time she'd made the walk. Her mind immediately went back to when this had originally happened, the same fear she'd felt then seemed to explode in her now. Would Kim be mad with her? Would she ever be able to be friends with her? "Kat, what's wrong?" Kim queried as she sat up on the bed, making room for Kat to sit on the edge.

Quickly, Kat forced back the fear and the tears that were welling in her eyes. "Can you ever forgive me?"

Kim looked at her in shock, blinking rapidly. "There's nothing to forgive. You saved my life," Kim started.

Kat shook her head, her gaze lowering to her lap. "Kimberly, I'm the reason you're here." When Kat looked up, Kim was staring at her in confusion. "I'm the one who stole your power coin, then gave it to Lord Zedd and Rita."

"Kat, I forgave you a long time ago for that," Kim murmured. Kat looked at her in stunned silence. It seemed Kim was the only one who was acting as though she were in the present with Kat. "Are you ever going to forgive yourself for that? We're friends, best friends, I never blamed you at all for what happened when Rita had you under her spell."

Kat's eyes filled with tears. "I know, you've told me that a million times since it happened, but I can't help but think..."

"Katherine Hillard, I trusted you enough, even after everything that happened, to continue on in my stead when I left the team, did I not?" Kat nodded. "I gave you the power to fight Rita and Zedd, I trusted you to continue on with the Pink legacy when I knew it was time for me to move on. If that didn't convince you that I forgave you for everything, I don't know what will."

"Kim..." Kat smiled and then felt everything fade from around her, until she found herself in the middle of the hallway, her hand still tightly grasping Tommy's. "I'm back!" Kat noticed Tommy's body was thrashing, as though he too were experiencing something unpleasant. "TOMMY!" Katherine never noticed she was glowing pink, her signature Ranger color.

* * *

Tommy stood on the balcony of Rita's lunar palace, listening as the self-appointed Empress of Evil and her big baboons made plans to take over Earth. How the Rangers could have been beaten was beyond him...how time had been turned back and changed was also beyond his comprehension. Jason had destroyed the Sword of Darkness, which ultimately freed him from the spell Rita had put him under.

'You destroyed your friends!' he thought bitterly. Hadn't Goldar said so only some time before? 'But that isn't how things happened!' Tommy yelled to himself. Jason had freed him, then he'd joined the team, eventually losing the Green powers then becoming the Mighty White Ranger, and then the red Zeo and Turbo Rangers.

"Problems, Tommy?" Goldar hissed in his ear. The Green Ranger turned to stare at the gold plated monkey in disgust.

"What do you want?"

"You realize you destroyed the most powerful fighting force in the universe today, don't you?" Goldar's smile and taunting only served to increase the hurt Tommy had. "I was there, you did a magnificent job. Especially making the Red and Pink Rangers suffer. Jason looked so helpless as your tortured Kimberly before you killed her. It took all the fight right out of him, but not anymore then finding out it was you who was the Green Ranger."

Tommy's thoughts drowned out what Goldar was babbling on about. He remembered all too clearly when Kim and he had gotten into the verbal confrontation in the hallway all those years ago. The look on her face as she realized who he was turned his stomach even now. She'd looked so horrified and then so scared...Kim...

It was then that Tommy realized what was truly going on. Hadn't he just been in the maze, with Kat, trying to get out in time to save Kimberly from Mesogog's clutches? "This isn't real," Tommy muttered in disbelief. "This isn't real! I didn't kill my friends; they saved me before I could harm them further! And then I became the White Ranger, Kimberly's white knight. And I've been the Red Zeo and Turbo Rangers, and now I'm the Black Dino Thunder Ranger."

Goldar watched Tommy in confusion as he muttered on and on about being several different Ranger colors. "This isn't real! I'm supposed to be saving Kim!"

Goldar lunged at him, his sword raised high. Before the familiar weapon could be brought down on Tommy's prone form, he woke to the sound of someone's sobs. "Tommy! Dammit! Tommy get a grip! WAKE UP!"

Tommy opened his eyes, hazel meeting bright blue as he saw Kat looming over him, her hands on his shoulders, shaking him awake. Tears fell incessantly from her eyes as Tommy sat up. "Kat?" he softly asked as she lunged at him, wrapping her arms around him.

"TOMMY!" she sobbed in relief when his arms enfolded her in his embrace, a hand running in soothing circles for a moment. "We don't have much time left," Kat started as she pulled away from him, her tears finally ceasing.

"Come on, we've gotta go," Tommy started as they got up and ran down the hallway in the direction they'd been going in before the nightmares had begun. As the pair left their nightmares behind, neither noticed that Tommy, like Kat had, started glowing a color, his the unearthly bright White that had signified his most powerful Ranger form.

* * *

"Billy!"

"Aisha!"

The former Blue and Yellow Morphin' Rangers swung around as the rounded a corner and found themselves face to face with Rocky and Adam.

"Rocky! Adam!" Aisha sighed in relief as the four grouped together and then started heading back down the way that Aisha and Billy had been heading.

Adam swallowed hard as they sped around a series of corners. "Is it just me, or did we all have weird dreams in here?"

"Try nightmares!" another voice, this one belonging to Katherine, quipped, as the group of four ran into Tommy and Kat, who were standing at what could only be described as the end of the maze. "Any ideas?"

"This is the end, shouldn't it open?" Rocky asked. Aisha rolled her eyes then reached out and smacked him lightly on the arm.

Billy took a step back, eye balling each of his former teammates. "Guys, we're glowing!" Billy started as the each looked down at their own bodies and then at each other.

Tommy nodded, his mind racing faster then he thought possible. "This has to mean something," Tommy started, wracking his mind for an answer.

"But what?" Adam asked as Aisha suddenly let a smile spread across her face.

"What always happened when we started glowing?" Five blank stares met her question. "Oh come on! We haven't not been rangers all that long, you guys can't tell me you don't get this!"

"Sha, you're scaring me," Rocky told her, point blank. Shaking his head, the former Red and Blue Ranger knew his girlfriend was obviously losing her mind.

Shaking her head, Aisha did the first thing that came to mind. "THE BEAR!" she cried out, watching the others jump back in surprise when the familiar yellow suit of the Yellow Bear Ninja appeared on Aisha's slight form.

"Of course!" Kat laughed. "THE CRANE!" she called out, sighing in relief when the familiar pink uniform engulfed her.

"THE FROG!"

"THE APE!"

"THE WOLF!"

"THE FALCON!"

As the guys called on their ancient animal spirits, they felt the rush of power that they had thought was lost to them forever suddenly roar to life.

"On three," Tommy spoke as the others lined up with him in front of the door. "One, two, THREE!"

"NINJETTI!"

* * *

"What the hell?" T.J. gasped as the door to the maze slid open and six multicolored figures rushed out, each glowing with their signature color.

Ethan, Conner and Kira gaped at what were obviously six ninjas. "Oh my God!" Dustin croaked as the six waiting Rangers stood and faced the six Ninjas.

"Tommy?" T.J. questioned when he got a good look at the man in white. "Rocky? Adam? Aisha? Billy? Kat?" T.J. spoke each of their names, watching as the six let their powers go, shifting to civilian form.

"What was that?" Kira demanded to know as Tommy shot her a look that was a cross between a smirk and a smile.

Taking a step forward, Tommy stood before his three teammates. "That Kira," he started before he caught her full attention. "Was the power of the Ancient Ninjetti, a power we received when we were about your age. Where are the others?"

"Jason was injured," Conner started before Alyssa nudged him none too gently in the ribs.

"He got hurt. Dana, Danny, Zack, and Trini went to the infirmary with him to make sure he was ok. The rest of us were supposed to wait here for you," Dustin informed them.

"Any word from the others?" Adam asked, his worry for Kim, Justin and Tanya overriding his common sense.

None had a chance to answer the former Black Morphin and Green Zeo/Turbo Ranger as a familiar whirling noise sounded, accompanied by Anton's entrance. When the six former and current Power Rangers turned, they were greeted with the sight of Anton Mercer glaring at two Zeo Rangers, two Time Force Rangers, two Galaxy Rangers, and the Red Lightspeed Rescue Ranger. "I don't think I like this one bit," Rocky murmured as the others nodded.

"Come, my friends," Anton growled. "I'm sure you're in need of rest and would like to see your injured comrade, as well as speak with your guests." Turning, Anton quickly strode back the way he came, all nineteen of the others following him wordlessly.


	8. Chapter 7: A Champion Is Chosen

Ok, as you will notice, very short chapter, only ten pages long. Sorry! I did have a bit going on in it though, cause it's setting up for the next couple of chapters….

Thanks to Lessa Solarem and Jang the DEFENDER for beta reading for me. You guys rock!

Also, thanks to JTrevizo for keeping us all inspired with Always A Ranger!!! Your comments on my stories help a lot!!

Take Care!!

Pink

Ranger Games: A Dino Thunder Reunion  
Chapter 7: A Champion Is Chosen  
By: Pink-Green-White-4ever  
Last Revised: June 5, 2004  
Email: see ff.net profile  
Website: see ff.net profile

* * *

3 hours later

"How's he doing?" Tommy asked as Dana and Kat stood over Jason, who was lying on one of the beds in a room adjacent to the infirmary. Dana had administered some painkillers before she'd set about closing the gaping hole in his ankle. As soon as the group of six had emerged from the maze and made their way to Jason's side, Dana had started about setting up for a blood transfusion from Tommy and Billy to Jason, who were the only two with the same blood type as the former Ranger.

Dana smiled when Kat reached out to caress Jason's cheek. "He's stable," she spoke, turning to glare at Tommy. "I thought I told you that you and Billy need to get some rest?"

Tommy rolled his eyes and then felt a hand clamp around his arm. Turning, he saw Carter was standing behind him. "Come on, Dana isn't one to trifle with. When provoked, she's got a temper to rival Kim's," Carter informed the Black Ranger as he led him away from his friend and toward one of the couches in another adjacent room, hearing all the way how no one could rival Kimberly's temper.

"Dana, he's gonna be alright, isn't he?" Kat asked, her voice roughed with emotion. Dana smiled and nodded.

"He'll be up and bugging us in no time, promise. Why don't you go get something to eat and take a rest, you've been standing here with him since you got out of the maze."

"I don't..." Kat started but then thought better of it. If Carter had been telling the truth, she really didn't want to upset Dana. "You want anything?" Kat asked as she leaned down, brushed her lips over Jason's and then stood back up.

Dana smiled and nodded. "A glass of ice water would be superb, thanks."

Nodding, Kat turned and purposefully strode from the room, leaving Dana to stare at Jason. "You are one very lucky man," Dana whispered as she checked Jason's vitals. "You've got great friends, a great girl, and somehow, you've retained a bit of the power that was first entrusted to you all those years ago."

"Thanks," Jason croaked as his eyes fluttered open. "Dana right?"

The blonde nodded. When she noticed Jason struggling to sit up, she used the pedal on the floor near her foot to tilt the bed into a sitting position. "Better?"

"Yeah," Jason muttered as the fire shooting up from his ankle registered with his drug induced mind. "Where is everyone?"

Dana smiled. Was it something in the make-up of those who had been Red Leaders to think of their teams before themselves? "Carter just dragged Tommy off to get some rest; Billy's resting. Tommy and Billy gave blood to you; you lost a lot from that wound. The new Rangers are getting some rest; Rocky is talking with Justin; everyone else is planning and trying to figure out what's going on, and Kat just left to get something to eat, doctor's orders."

Jason nodded, though his head was spinning. "Others?"

"Ah, yes. Danny, Alyssa, Wes, Lucas, T.J., Maya, Damon, and Dustin are hanging out with Trini, Adam, Tanya, Aisha, and Zack."

"Aren't there more of you?" Jason whispered. He'd heard bits and pieces of the conversation while he'd been lying there.

"Cam and Carlos are with Hayley still, trying to figure out a way to get to Kim."

Dana watched Jason's eyes darken, if at all possible. Apparently, the former Red Morphin' Ranger had feelings for the former Pink one. "She's been my little sister the entire time I've known her," Jason informed her when the familiar look crossed her face. "We've been friends since grade school."

Dana nodded. That explained a lot. Apparently, the original team, with the exception of Tommy, had grown up together, at least that's what Dana had gathered from the bits and pieces of conversation she'd heard the new Rangers having with the older ones. It would make sense that Jason would be seriously worried about Kim. "Understandable. Lay still and I'll go see if I can find something for you to eat," Dana told him when his stomach grumbled, causing him to blush. He hadn't eaten since breakfast, and then it had only been picking at the food because of the news Tommy had given them on Kim.

"Dana?" Jason's call stopped the Pink Lightspeed Ranger in her tracks. "How was Kim when you last saw her?"

Dana debated on telling him what she knew or giving him the exact answer to his question. "Jason, the others said it's pretty bad. She was hurt saving Tanya, and Mesogog still has her." Dana winced when the normally tan young man blanched. "Don't worry, we're working on plan C." With that, she turned and strode from the room.

* * *

"My lord?" Elsa started as she, Zeltrax, and the White Ranger stood with Mesogog next to the table where Kimberly's unconscious body was resting.

Mesogog shot Elsa a look. "What?"

The woman in black's eyebrows knit in confusion. "Why did the Pink Ranger's powers give out on her? Of the six, she and the White Ranger possess the greatest power."

Mesogog rolled his eyes, turning back to stare at Kimberly's still form. "Because," he hissed, reaching out to grab Kimberly's arm, holding up her wrist for the others to view. Perched on the tan, delicate wrist was a band with a small pink gem. "She only has a shard of the Pink Dino Gem. Her powers are only at half strength."

"I'd like to search for the rest of her Gem," the White Ranger started, catching the other three's attention.

Zeltrax growled while Mesogog nodded. Elsa's eyebrow shot up in question. "Of course. Zeltrax, outfit the White Ranger with the last known coordinates for the Pink Gem, and give him any equipment deemed necessary for his journey."

"Yes Master."

* * *

Tommy lay on his bed in the infirmary, listening to his friends' chatter in the background from the other room. Jason was awake, which eased a bit of the tension the Black Ranger was feeling, but the majority of his problems were coming from the missing part of his heart.

For too many years to count now, Tommy knew, his heart had bore the void of losing the one thing in his life that had seemed to make him live. It wasn't that he hadn't gotten on with his life, that he hadn't made something of himself but his heart was still stuck in that moment nearly a decade past when his world had just stopped turning. 'Why us?' he asked for what seemed like the millionth time since he'd learned the truth. Was it fate or just really bad timing that kept the two of them apart when all they wanted was to be together?

Unbridled tears leaked from the corners of his eyes as he looked up at the ceiling. If he closed his eyes and concentrated, he could remember the feel of her body next to his, could feel the heat of her skin, the beat of her heart. Memories of the past weekend came to mind. They'd only made love once, but Tommy knew without a doubt that that one time would never be able to quench this nearly unnatural need for her. 'And now she is so far out of my reach, it isn't even funny!' he growled as he sat up on the bed, his arms resting on his knees, which he pulled up to his chest. "Kim," he groaned a few minutes later as he lay back on the bed, turning to bury his face in the pillow. He felt like he'd failed her, just like on Murianthias, just like when Zedd and Rita had taken her power coin. He was her white knight, he thought, but he hadn't been doing his job very well.

"Stop beating yourself up over this," a hauntingly familiar voice drifted across the room to his ears. Turning, Tommy saw her standing there, watching him. His heart wanted nothing more than for his body to fly across the room and embrace her, but his mind saw an obvious reason why he couldn't. It wasn't that he knew she was evil at the moment; it was the fact that he could see through her that stopped him.

"Kim?" he brokenly whispered, her name seemingly wrenched from deep within him.

Her smile was sad while she soundlessly floated across the room to him, sitting on the edge of his cot. "I'm not dead, I know exactly what you're thinking," she whispered, watching him sigh in relief. "I'm asleep, wherever my body is. This, I think, is part of the power of the Pink Gem...astral projection." Tommy nodded.

Automatically, he reached out to her, his hand caressing the air where her cheek seemed to be. "I miss you." Tommy's words brought tears to her eyes. She nodded and using what power she had, pushed him back to lie on the cot. Taking a deep breath, she lay down next to him, curled into his side like she had the last night she'd spent with him.

"Tommy, don't give up," she whispered softly, sensing that's all he really wanted to do without her by his side. "You're almost there. I miss you, so much. My body may not be mine anymore, but my soul is, and it's always with you."

"Don't leave me, Beautiful, please don't leave me again," he whispered into her hair. "I can't do this without you." Slowly, Tommy felt himself start drifting off to sleep.

"I'm always with you, Handsome, always."

"KIMBERLY!"

Rocky, Adam, Aisha, Trini and Zack rushed into the room where Tommy was laying and saw him sitting on the cot, gasping for breath. Aisha and Trini immediately moved to calm him down. "Tommy, what's wrong?" Trini asked as she and Aisha wrapped their arms around him.

"It was just a dream," Tommy murmured, looking around, his eyes wild, searching for someone. "Kim, she was just here, with me."

Rocky and Adam shot each other worried glances while Zack attempted to reason with Tommy. "Bro, Kim's not here, nor has she ever been here. The reject from the prehistoric age still has her."

Tommy shook his head. They couldn't begin to understand. "I know she wasn't here, here, she was here in my dream," Tommy whispered. Both Trini and Aisha looked at him in a mixture of sadness and awareness.

"Tommy, what did she tell you?" Aisha automatically questioned.

Feeling that Aisha might understand what he was getting at, Tommy turned his head toward her. "That I should stop blaming myself for her being gone, and that I shouldn't give up."

"What else?" Trini asked, sensing Tommy was holding something back.

Tommy blushed. The other things Kim had said to him, they'd been rather personal. "Um, that she missed me and that she's always with me." Trini and Aisha suddenly smiled knowing smiles.

"Well, if Kim got the message to you, considering her current state of mind, then I say we still have a pretty good chance of saving her," Adam replied after a moment, knowing that his words would help to calm his friend down. Tommy smiled his thanks.

"So, Jason's awake, right?" Tommy asked. Trini and Aisha nodded. "Then let's go visit, shall we?" The others started laughing and helped Tommy up and out of the room.

* * *

Jason was staring at the ceiling when Tommy crept into the room where he was laying. When Jason looked up, he smiled, seeing his best friend standing in the doorway, looking none the worse for wear. "How ya feeling?" Tommy asked his best friend, watching as dark brown eyes lit with laughter.

"Better than I did in that damn maze, that's for sure," Jason quipped, watching Tommy nod. "By the way, thanks for the blood."

Tommy chuckled. "No problem, Bro. It's not the first time, probably won't be the last time." Jason nodded in agreement to that. Tommy was acting like his normal self, but Jason could see the weariness in the Black Ranger's eyes.

"How are you holding up?" Jason finally asked, knowing that Tommy wouldn't talk about it unless provoked.

Blinking back the sting of the tears he'd felt earlier, Tommy grabbed one of the chairs near the door and slid it over next to Jason's bed. Slowly, Jason saw the façade of the Ranger-Leader-Mode Tommy had been in fall apart. "I miss her," Tommy croaked, closing his eyes to ward back the burning of his eyes. "She came to me in my dream, Jason. Part of the Pink Gem's powers is Astral Projection."

Just as Jason was about to open his mouth in reply, Dana came rushing in with Adam. "We've got a problem."

Tommy and Jason rolled their eyes as Adam moved toward Jason's bed, where he and Tommy helped Jason slid off and then walk out of the room behind Dana.

* * *

"Master?" Elsa asked as Mesogog stood over Kimberly's still form.

"It's time," Mesogog hissed as Zeltrax entered the room. Both he and Elsa waited as Mesogog opened an invisi-portal and then the trio walked through, never seeing Kimberly's body start to glow pink.

"Tommy."

* * *

The Rangers, old and new, stood on the field just beyond the tunnel that led to the bowels of the arena. Anton stood before them, a wicked smile lighting his face. "Time to face your final challenge before you meet my champion," he started, watching as the group narrowed their gazes at him. "Allow me to introduce you to your opponents, Elsa and Zeltrax. They are Lord Mesogog's top generals." At Anton's words, two figures emerged from the darkened tunnel.

Those who knew the two took defensive stances, those who didn't just looked from the duo, to Anton, to the six who were still in the competition. "Hello Dr. Oliver," Elsa sneered as she and Zeltrax stopped next to Anton. "Katherine, Aisha, William, Rocky, Adam."

"Are you ready?" Zeltrax queried, his voice taunting.

Tommy's gaze narrowed, his sole focus on the black figure before him. "Zeltrax is mine." Both Katherine and Aisha took surprised steps back when they saw his face, but joined their three male friends in nodding their assent to Tommy's words.

"I'll leave you to it, then. Good luck." With that, Anton turned and strode purposefully back into the innards of the arena, leaving Elsa and Zeltrax to face the Rangers.

A purely evil smile crossed Elsa's features as she strode forward. "FIGHT!" In a split second, all five of the other Rangers were jumping back as Elsa tossed a force blast at them. When they each regained their equilibrium, they began throwing punches, kicks, leg sweeps and blocks in Elsa's direction. Surprisingly enough, Kat was the first to land a blow on their opponent.

Elsa was knocked back five steps by Katherine's punch, causing her to struggle to regain her balance. "Didn't think you had it in you, Kitty Kat."

Kat's gaze narrowed, her face hard. "You have no clue what's inside of me!" she hissed back, metaphorically baring her teeth and extending her claws. While Elsa was gloating over the insult, Kat took a page from Kim's book and began a series of front flips and handsprings toward their opponent. When she was within range, the former Pink Ranger launched a scissors kick at Elsa, nailing her in the chest and sending the leather clad woman landing on her ass.

"Remind me to never, ever piss Kat off!" Rocky muttered, and then shrank back near Aisha when Kat shot a glare over her shoulder at him.

"You'll have to do better than that, Power Wimps!" Elsa taunted as she got to her feet, launching another round of force blasts at the five.

"Guys, teamwork!" Tanya called from the sidelines as the five regrouped. Nodding to their friend, they began circling around Elsa.

"Up and over?" Adam called out to Rocky, who grinned like a fool at the familiar plan. Each of them made as if they were running directly at Elsa, who was unsure of what was happening. Suddenly, the two men were airborne, flipping over Elsa and landing where the other had been standing.

With Elsa distracted, both Kat and Aisha launched another round of attacks, Aisha going for a drop kick while Kat used a tried and true leg sweep on 'Biker Chick'. Elsa managed to avoid both, but could not avoid the spinning heel kick that Billy launched, which effectively knocked her on her ass again, this time Rocky grabbing her fallen sword and holding it to her throat before she could get up. Eyes flashing red with the power flowing through him, Rocky muttered, "Move and I won't hesitate to use this on you." Elsa gulped, and deciding that she liked living entirely too much to call the former Red and Blue Ranger's bluff, simply nodded and continued to lay on the ground.

With Elsa out, the group, with the exception of Rocky and Adam, turned their attention to the opposite side of the field where Tommy and Zeltrax were still going at it.

"Are you still mad at me, Dr. Oliver?" Zeltrax goaded as he and Tommy circled one another. "Still upset about my taking your precious little Kimmie?" At Zeltrax's words, Tommy hurled himself forward, only to have his opponent nail him in the solar plexus as he stumbled past.

"You'll wish to God you'd never touched her," Tommy growled, throwing himself once again into the fight, heedless of whether or not he landed any blows on his opponent.

On the sidelines, the others watched on helplessly. "I can't believe Dr. O's letting that tin can get the best of him!" Kira spat out as she watched Zeltrax land another hit on her teacher and fellow Ranger.

"Tommy's not focusing, he's making too many mistakes," Trini murmured. Conner and Zack had taken charge of helping Jason, who motioned for them to move him a bit closer to Tommy.

"TOMMY! FOCUS!" Jason hollered, silencing all the side conversations that were going on, causing each of the other Rangers to focus their attention on Tommy.

Out on the field, Tommy caught Jason's words over Zeltrax's barbs. Nodding his head, Tommy slowed his mind down to focus solely on the task at hand. As he was doing so, Zeltrax made another witty comment. "You know Tommy, Kimberly's such an interesting teammate," the black dressed thing toyed with the Black Ranger. "So delicate and tasty!"

Zack, Conner, Trini, Jason and many of the others winced when they heard what Zeltrax teased out to Tommy. Just when they all thought that the Black Ranger would once again lose his focus, they watched on in shock as he stopped moving altogether. Quietly, Tommy slowed his breathing, closed his eyes, let his hands go limp at his sides, then reached deep within his soul to the place where the power and skills he'd been honing for years lay at rest.

Zeltrax watched his opponent with mild interest. So the good doctor had no fight left in him! Zeltrax cackled at that, and surged forward to deliver one final, deadly blow. His sword never made it.

When Zeltrax was within inches of ending Tommy's life, Tommy's eyes shot open. Where there once had been a deep, chocolate brown now a pure, unearthly white shone. Zeltrax attempted to halt his movement toward Tommy, but couldn't. Just when the walking tin can that was Mesogog's top general would have plowed right into the current Black Ranger, white and black light shot out of Tommy's outstretched hands, hurling Zeltrax across the arena and into one of the solid concrete walls.

"Oh my God," Alyssa commented as the Rangers watched on in shock.

"What the hell was that?" Ethan muttered as Kira nodded.

After she'd shook of her shock, Kat's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "That," she started, watching as the light slowly receded from Tommy. "Was the power of the Black Dino Gem and the White Falcon, Tommy's Ninjetti power."

Clapping soon filled the nearly silent arena. Eyes turned toward the tunnel, where Anton stood, clapping his hands, and smiling. "A job well done. Dr. Oliver, I had no idea you had that kind of power."

Tommy's breathing was slightly labored as he forced his body to move to within a foot of Anton. "We've defeated your tests, release Kim."

Anton's face was smug when he shook his head. "I'm afraid you have to face a champion of my choosing. Follow me, if you dare."

* * *

A white blur sped through the forest, weaving in and out of trees, large bushes, and avoiding whatever animals, birds and reptiles still inhabited the island after the destruction that was caused some years before by an exploding laboratory formerly owned by Anton Mercer and Mercer Industries; a place where one Dr. Tommy Oliver once worked.

"Ten more meters," the white blur, which was in reality the White Ranger, muttered to himself, as he stopped to look down at the tracking device that Elsa and Zeltrax had given him.

For a moment, the White Ranger felt the world tilt around him. Why had he volunteered to go and find the other shard of the Pink Gem? It wasn't like he particularly liked Mesogog, he definitely didn't trust Elsa or Zeltrax, but perhaps it had been because he felt a pull toward the Pink Ranger, this Kimberly Hart, that he had not felt before save for once. She reminded him of someone; someone who's sandy blonde almost auburn hair, gorgeous eyes, and yellow clothing were much beloved. "Kira," he whispered, feeling the tug inside, where his heart was, almost as if she were with him.

Shaking his head, the White Ranger pushed onward.

* * *

Ten minutes later, the White Ranger came to another stop, this time just before a large pit in the middle of the path he'd been traveling on. Cautiously, he peered over the edge. Inside the darkened hole, a faint glow could be seen; a faint pink glow. "Gotcha," he muttered as he began unloading the equipment he'd been given.

The White Ranger turned on the flashlight he'd been given, secured the rope to a nearby tree, and then descended into the pit with the velvet pouch he would put the gem in.

At the bottom, the White Ranger saw the embedded meteorite that contained the Pink Gem. Using his own powers, the White Ranger managed to extract the Pink Gem, which slid soundlessly into the velvet pouch. Securing the cinch on the pouch, the White Ranger began his climb back up the rope, to the top of the pit. Once he was back on stable ground, the young man gathered his equipment quickly and then sped off back the way he came.

* * *

The group of Power Rangers gathered together before the invisi-portal Anton had managed to open. "Tommy, I don't like this," Trini informed the former Ranger Leader, who nodded.

"Neither do I, but the rest of you were eliminated," Tommy told her as Jason huffed indignantly. "Jason?"

"I don't like not being able to help you with this. You don't know what Mercer or Mesogog are gonna throw at you."

Kat stepped forward, her face set. "That's true, but the six of us are willing to risk it to save Kim. Besides, neither of them know, other than what happened with Zeltrax, that we seemed to have reactivated the Ninja powers while we were in the maze."

Adam, Billy, Rocky and Aisha nodded, as Zack shook his head and slung an arm around Tanya and Justin's shoulders. "All I'm gonna say is good luck," Tanya spoke softly, eyes filling as Rocky, Adam and Aisha linked arms around one another. Kat took Tommy and Billy's hands, shooting the others a smile.

"Zack?" Justin asked as the former black Ranger strode forward, pulling Tanya and Justin with him.

"Seeing as how Kim and Zordon aren't here to say it, I will," Zack started, watching as the others turned toward him. "May the power protect you."

The six former and current Rangers who were set to leave with Anton gulped and nodded. Zordon had graced them with the same words each and every time they'd donned their uniforms, as had Kim that last night she'd been with them all those years ago, when she'd given up her powers to follow her dreams. "Let's do this!" Rocky grinned, inspiring the others to step forward.

As one, the six stood before Anton and then followed him into the invisi-portal.

* * *

He found her sitting on the bed where she'd been when he left some hours before. "You're awake?" the White Ranger questioned, his voice seemingly different then the last time Kimberly had talked to him.

While she'd been unconscious, her soul had wandered from her body and discovered a thing or two. "Why are you working with Mesogog?" she asked him, her voice soft and confused. "Why are you working for that Land Before Time Reject of the Mesozoic era when you could be with her, helping her?"

The White Ranger stood there, the velvet pouch containing the Pink Gem in hand, unsure of how to answer his teammate. "What are you talking about?"

"You're in love with Kira!" Kim argued. For the most part, she'd regained control of herself, but there was still some lingering energy from Mesogog and the control he'd had over the Pink Gem. Kim watched on in shock as, for the first time, the White Ranger's uniform disappeared, leaving a confused, upset, and pale Trent Fernandez staring at her. "Trent?" Kira had pointed him out to her when they'd been at the park Kim's first night in Reefside as the group had trudged over to the playground equipment before Tommy had shown up.

His mouth snapped shut while he strode toward her, thrusting the pouch into her hands. "This belongs to you. Only you can touch it, join it with the one on your wrist." So saying, the black haired young man turned, allowed his suit to flare around him again, and fled the room.

Kim looked after him until the door shut, then looked down to what he'd given her. Fearful, she undid the cinch, and then gasped when a pink glow assaulted her senses. "The Pink Dino Gem shard!" When the crackle of an invisi-portal started, Kim realized she didn't have much time. Reaching into the pouch, she withdrew the pink gem, held it to her wrist where the other shard was, and willed the two pieces together. The resulting explosion of power flung Kimberly across the room and into the wall, knocking her unconscious.

* * *

"Welcome to Mesogog's Island Fortress," Anton announced as the seven of them found themselves in one of the many rooms. Tommy gasped. He'd been stuck in this room right before the Black Dino Gem had bonded with him.

"Where's Kimberly!" Kat fiercely demanded as Anton strode forward and then turned to face them. They watched on in shock as his body started to shake. Before their very eyes, Dr. Anton Mercer changed from human to dinosaur, becoming the evil villain, Mesogog.

The six gasped. "Oh Shit!" Rocky muttered as Adam swallowed hard. Aisha stared on in shock, while Billy muttered under his breath. Kat's eyes were narrowed as she glared at the black clad figure. And all the while, Tommy stared on in complete and utter shock. He hadn't seen that one coming.

"So you have returned?" a dark voice called a few moments later when the doors to the room slid open and the White Ranger stepped through.

"Ah!! Rangers, meet one of my champions. Meet my White Ranger."

Aisha rolled her eyes when Rocky cracked, "I liked Tommy's suit as White Ranger better."

Adam shook his head, as did Billy. "Only you, Rocky," Kat spoke.

"What do you mean by Champions? I thought we only had to face one person?" Aisha growled.

Mesogog smiled. "Champions, my dear Bear, champions. Allow me to introduce you to my other champion." As Mesogog's words rang out, the wall to the left of the group grumbled and groaned as it slid up, joining the room they were in with the one next to it. Standing in the other room, decked out in the Dino Thunder uniform, was the Pink Dino Thunder Ranger.

"Kim."


	9. Chapter 8: Secrets Of The Past

Okies, I've had this and the epilogue written for nearly a week, as you can see by the Last Revised Date. Unfortunately, only one of my beta-readers has been able to get back to me on it, so once the second one does, I'll repost this with any corrections I make.

Thanks to Lessa and Jang for joining me on this wild ride that was Ranger Games.

Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews or emails or whatever!

Ranger Games: A Dino Thunder Reunion

Chapter 8 - Secrets Of The Past

By: Pink-Green-White-4ever

Last Revised: June 16, 2004

Email: see profile

Website: see profile

Beta-Read By: Lessa Solarem and Jang the DEFENDER

* * *

The group of six friends stared at the Pink Ranger in shock. None of them had had the opportunity yet to see what Mesogog had done to their friend, but now the results were staring them in the face. Kim was back in uniform, but this time she was on Mesogog's side. "Kim?" Aisha sputtered as she stared at her best friend in shock. She could see, even through the tint of the visor, that it was indeed Kimberly in that suit.

"Welcome Rangers," the Pink Ranger spoke, her voice devoid of emotion. Kat shook her head, lowering her gaze to the floor as angry tears burned her eyes, her thoughts on how this shouldn't have ever happened to Kim after Murianthias. Rocky pinched the bridge of his nose with his right thumb and forefinger, hoping to ward of the inevitable headache. Adam's lips were pursed, his eyes wide, and his voice silent, wondering exactly how they were going to save their friend. Billy's mouth hung open; the former Blue Ranger couldn't quite grasp the fact that one of his best friends was now working for the enemy. And of all of them, it was Tommy who stood there, his face shining. He didn't care that Kim was against them at the moment; all he cared about was that she was safe, alive, and not laying in some chamber around here, dead.

"Beautiful," Tommy's voice was soft, tender, and full of love. Mesogog and the White Ranger stood off to the side and laughed as Tommy attempted to connect with the Pink Ranger. "Oh God, Beautiful," Tommy murmured. His eyes were soft and slightly pleading as he gazed down into the visor of the Pink Dino Thunder Ranger.

Mesogog's next roar of laughter brought the others out of their stupor. "You're wasting your breath, Dr. Oliver!" the prehistoric villain laughed. "She is under my control. Nothing you say or do will break that. Once she and my White Ranger have taken care of the six of you, she will take her rightful place at my side, as my queen, when I begin my domination of this world."

Tommy blocked everything but the steady rhythm of Kim's heartbeat and breathing out of his mind. Slowly, so as not to scare her, Tommy took baby steps toward her. "Beautiful," he spoke her nickname again, hoping beyond hope to jar her from Mesogog's control. "It's me, Beautiful, it's me Tommy, your White Knight," he whispered as he finally stopped just inches in front of her.

Kimberly's gaze shifted upward, so she could still look into his face. Her hands were at her sides, clenching and unclenching, the only sign that she was even listening to what Tommy was saying.

The White Ranger laughed. "Face it, Black Ranger," the white clad man laughed. "Not even your tender words and familiar voice can break Mesogog's hold on her."

The team watched on as Tommy continued to ignore everything and everyone but Kim. "Come on Beautiful," Tommy murmured to her. "It's time to go home. Come with me, Kim, come home with me."

It was a Mexican standoff as far as Aisha could tell. No matter how much Tommy spoke to her, Kim just wasn't budging from her spot. However, Aisha did notice something. Kim's stance in front of Tommy was not like the White Ranger or Mesogog's, it was almost as if the Pink Ranger was trying to hide something from them all, something only Tommy seemed to understand. "I don't get it," Kat muttered. Aisha did though. She saw the way Kim slowly nodded her head, the movement so minimal that not even Mesogog or the White Ranger, let alone the others on the team, would notice, but Tommy, like Aisha, had noticed it. Realization caused a bright smile to spread across Aisha's face.

"Look, let's just get this over with, shall we?" Aisha muttered as Mesogog and the White Ranger laughed.

"Eager to die, my dear Aisha?" Mesogog asked as the group suddenly took defensive stances.

Aisha smirked at him. "Nope, I'm eager to get my best friend out of here and back home where she belongs." Rocky, Kat, Adam, and Billy all looked to Aisha like she'd lost her mind, but followed her none the less, as it was perfectly clear that Tommy was too out of it with Kim, to lead them.

* * *

The Pink Ranger hadn't anticipated the force that hit her when she'd merged the two pieces of the Pink Dino Gem. Nor had she thought that the full power of the Pink Gem would amplify the control Mesogog had exerted over her or over the gem itself.

But that's exactly what happened.

Kimberly was waging an internal war with herself in the aftermath of making the Pink Gem whole. In her mind, there were two Kimberly's. One wore a pair of black jeans and a pink tank top while the other was decked out in white short shorts and a pink tee shirt. Each represented a side of the first generation Power Ranger.

"Give it up, Pinkie," the Kim in black sneered as the one in white looked at her. "You think you can beat Lord Mesogog? Think again."

The Kim dressed in white shorts shook her head. "You don't get it do you?" the one who represented the real Kim asked. "You may be a part of her, the part that Lord Zedd, Maligore, and Mesogog saw and see, but you're not the real Kim. You aren't the reason Zordon chose her to be a Power Ranger, you aren't the reason the others are friends with her, and you aren't the reason Tommy loves her. I am."

The one who represented Kim's dark side started laughing. "That may be, but thanks to the Dino Gem, I'm the one with the power, the one in control. Let's see how her friends do against a Kim they aren't used to." With that, the one in black disappeared, leaving the other trapped.

* * *

"The time has come," Mesogog hissed. "My Rangers, dispose of Dr. Oliver and his friends."

Old instincts kicked in, allowing the group of friends to drop into ready stances behind Tommy, who was still oblivious to the rest of the world. "You will not be able to stop me," the White Ranger laughed at the group.

"We're going to try anyway," Rocky muttered as he settled into the familiar stance. Reaching deep down, each member of the group grasped onto the power that was inside them, the power that had been there even before Zordon had made them Rangers, the power that being Ninjetti had helped them recognize.

"ATTACK!" Mesogog yelled as the White Ranger lunged forward, his first target Tommy.

"NO!" The word ripped from the Pink Ranger's throat just as she struck a hand out, stopping the White Ranger in mid movement. "He's mine." Nodding, the White Ranger moved to face the other five while the Pink Ranger stood in front of Tommy.

The five former Rangers looked at each other in worry. Even with the power of the Ninjetti backing them, the five knew they stood a pretty good chance of losing this fight. "Keep him busy until Tommy gets Kim freed, then we attack with everything we've got," Rocky commanded, taking up his duties as second in command again. Four heads nodded in agreement as the five readied themselves.

"Let's do it!" Adam cried, as each of them began the process of calling the familiar power forth.

"Ninjetti!" the group cried.

"The Frog!"

"The Wolf1"

"The Ape!"

"The Bear!"

"The Crane!" Kat was the last to call on her power, only to have the exact opposite of what she was expecting to happen. "GUYS!" Kat cried out in shock.

Rocky, Adam, Aisha and Billy looked over. Instead of seeing the Pink Ninja, they still saw Kat. "Oh crap!" Aisha muttered. "Kat, try it again!"

"THE CRANE!" Again, when Kat called upon the power of the Pink Crane, it never answered her.

"Kat, get behind us!" Rocky commanded as the four Ninjas strode forward, placing themselves between the White Ranger and the powerless Katherine.

Meanwhile, Mesogog stood on the other side of the room, taking in both battles. The White Ranger faced the five former Rangers while his Pink Ranger stood before Tommy, seemingly ignoring her former lover. "She's mine, Dr. Oliver, and there's nothing you can do to help her."

Tommy heard Mesogog, heard the commotion going on with his friends behind him, but he knew that for them to overcome this challenge, they were going to need Kim's help. "Beautiful," Tommy whispered, hoping the familiar nickname would jar her memory.

"Tommy." His name was whispered so softly, so tenderly, it brought tears to Tommy's eyes. He watched her eyes through the visor, watched as she struggled for control.

"Kim."

"NO!" Mesogog roared, throwing his hand up as if to hurtle a force blast in Kim and Tommy's direction.

At the sound of Mesogog's voice, something inside the White Ranger snapped. Forgetting about his opponents, the White Ranger turned just in time to see Mesogog release a burst of energy at the unsuspecting Tommy and Kim.

His body moved of it's own accord, confusing him even as he felt the searing heat of the power. Tommy stood in stunned shock as the White Ranger collapsed to his knees, his visor turned to look up at him and Kim. "Trent!" Kim cried out as the White suit vanished, leaving the teenager staring up at his teammate. "Oh God, Trent!" Kimberly hit her knees, her arms going around him while Mesogog, Tommy and the others watched on in shock. "WHY?" Kim pleaded with him.

Even as Kim's words penetrated Trent's pain filled thoughts, he could only reply, "For Kira, for you." With that, the White Ranger passed out in Kim's arms.

Rocky, Adam, Aisha, Billy and Kat looked on in shock, watching as Kim slowly laid Trent's smoking body on the floor. Her eyes were still on her former teammate as she stood, but when her gaze came up, the others watched on in horror as her body, and her eyes, started glowing a hazy pink. "Uh oh," Adam muttered as the group unconsciously nodded.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Kim cried out angrily. "HE'S YOUR SON!" Rocky, Adam, Kat, Billy and Aisha blinked rapidly, wondering exactly what Kim was talking about, while Tommy stood there shaking his head.

"He's a traitor!" Mesogog hissed. "Just like you. But I know how to get you back, my dearest Pink Ranger. DIE DR. OLIVER!" Mesogog released another blast of power, this time directly at Tommy.

"TOMMY!" the group cried out, watching again as the miraculous happened. Kimberly leapt from her spot next to Trent's body and placed her own pink clad body between Tommy and the force blast. Unbelievably, Kimberly managed to deflect a large amount of the power back at Mesogog. However, she also absorbed a good portion of the impact, which threw her back into Tommy's arms, where she lay limp as a wet noodle.

Tommy's arms were wrapped around her, even as his brain worked to process what had just happened. First Trent, now Kim. "Oh God!" Tommy muttered as he sank to his knees, Kim's body cradled against his chest. "Kim, oh God, no!" Tommy rocked back and forth

Mesogog's laughter was all that could be heard in the room as the former Rangers looked at Tommy cradling Kim's lifeless body in his arms, rocking back and forth as he muttered and sobbed her name.

* * *

"YOU!" the black clad woman hissed as she stood before her white dressed counterpart.

The woman in white smirked. "Yes me, and in case you didn't notice, she also managed to get through to Trent."

"You bitch!" the woman in clack hissed as she flew forward, only to be thrown back as the woman in white threw a hand up, let it glow pink, and forced the other back.

"You underestimated her, which is exactly what everyone who doesn't know her has a tendency to do. She's not weak, she's not feeble, and she's not incapable of defending herself. Which means I'm not weak, not unable to defend myself," the woman in the white smiled. "Love and Friendship are the two most powerful feelings in the entire universe, something that those of evil never understand. Now that you've had your fun, it's my turn, and this time, you aren't ever going to be able to come out again. THE CRANE!"

* * *

As the two Kim's warred against one another, the four Ninjas joined Tommy, who'd called upon his Ninjetti powers, in front of Mesogog. Kat sat on the floor behind them between the unconscious Kim and Trent. "This ends now," Tommy growled. Mesogog sneered.

"Right you are, Dr. Oliver, right you are."

"Let's do it guys!" Tommy called as the group and Mesogog started to glow.

"Ninjetti!"

"The Falcon!"

"The Ape!"

"The Frog!"

"The Wolf!"

"The Bear!"

Mesogog's own voice was drowned out by the five calls, by the roar of power that announced the arrival of the Ninjetti Animal Spirits.

As the battle raged on, Kat sat between the two fallen Rangers, her emotions a whirl of hurt, confusion, and anxiety. "Kat?" At the whispery sound of her name, Katherine looked down at the one who'd spoken.

There was Kimberly, moving slowly but surely to sit up. Automatically, Kat wrapped an arm around Kim and helped her to a sitting position. "KIM!"

"Kat, take my hand, and when I give the signal, we've got to give it everything we've got." Katherine looked at her friend in confusion, not really understanding what Kim was getting at. "One...two...THREE!"

At Kim's signal, both girls shouted, "THE CRANE!" They watched as the pink power that had been shared between them was released to soar toward the building power of the others. Katherine watched on in amazement as the pink power joined the others, then slammed into Mesogog, who turning back into Anton Mercer in a series of screams, screeches, and roars.

"Kim, we did it! That's exactly what was missing!" Giddy, Katherine turned to look over at Kim, but instead of seeing her friend smiling at her, Kimberly was once again laying on the ground, this time not breathing. "KIM!"

* * *

The private waiting room at Reefside General Hospital was filled with anxious Rangers. Each of them was antsy, waiting on news of Kimberly, Trent, Anton and Tommy's conditions. "I never thought we'd have to go through this again," Aisha muttered.

"No kidding. The first time through with Kim was bad enough, and then Rocky's accident," Adam muttered. "This is worse." For all the power the past and present Rangers had, there were still some times when real doctors, and a real hospital, were needed.

"Dana?" Jason called out as the blonde in pink scrubs walked into the room, shutting the door behind her.

All eyes turned to stare at the Pink Lightspeed Ranger. "Tommy's fine. He's dehydrated, bruised and has a concussion."

The group nodded. Of the group that had faced Mesogog, Tommy had taken the brunt of the backlash of power. Rocky, Adam, Aisha, Billy, and Kat had escaped with a few bruises and cuts. "What about Dr. Mercer, Trent and Kim?" Trini asked softly.

Dana swallowed hard. "Trent and Anton have got some minor things wrong. Broken ribs, Trent's got a separated shoulder and dislocated elbow while Anton's got a concussion, some memory loss, a broken arm, broken collarbone, and some broken fingers. On top of that, they've both got extensive bruises and some minor lacerations."

"And Kimberly?" Kat growled, instinctively knowing that Dana was withholding information.

Dana's eyes shot to Carter's face, begging for his help. "Dana, how bad is it?" Carter questioned as he walked toward her.

Again, Dana swallowed the lump in her throat. "It's bad. She's suffered severe blood loss, multiple fractures to her ribs, legs, arms. She's got two breaks in her collarbone and a concussion," Dana spoke, again withholding a bit of the information she knew would scare them.

Kira stepped forward, her eyes welling. "Dana, what else is wrong with her?" The Yellow Ranger saw the tears well in Dana's eyes and nearly lost her battle with her own.

Taking a deep breath, Dana closed her eyes and told them. "She's in a coma. Her heart stopped several times. We almost couldn't save her." Dana finally dissolved into tears and quiet sobs, automatically seeking comfort in Carter's arms.

The linkage of power and comfort among the original Rangers was instantaneous. Kat's hand shot out, joining with Jason's, who's other hand had a firm grip on Trini's. Billy had a hold of Trini's other hand while Zack's own hand was clasped onto Billy's shoulder. Rocky, Adam, Aisha, Tanya and Justin surged forward, each touching one of the others in a comforting way, linking them all.

The younger Rangers watched on in quiet awe. Each pair of Rangers from the other teams gathered together on one side of the room, while Hayley, Kira, Conner and Ethan sat together, digesting the news about their teammates.

"Does Tommy know?" Jason's question was asked with a carefully controlled voice. His best friend and little sister were both injured, one of them fighting for their life, he had to know if Tommy knew about Kim.

Dana shook her head. "No. I didn't want to upset him. The doctors are going to release him in a few minutes."

"What about Trent and Dr. Mercer?" Carter asked.

"Tomorrow at the earliest. With the Ranger powers Trent had, he should be good as new soon, Tommy too. Anton's going to be slow moving for a while."

Alyssa's voice brought the others' attention back to the problem at hand. "There's nothing we can do for Kimberly, is there?"

Dana nearly started crying again. "No. It's just a waiting game now."

"THIS SUCKS!" Justin hissed angrily, causing both Tanya and Kat to move to wrap him in their arms. "It's not fair! After everything they've been though, she might not even make it! Haven't they suffered enough already?"

Both Kat and Tanya were at a loss as to how to sooth Justin. Jason automatically moved to pull Justin into his arms for a crushing hug. "Justin," Jason's voice was rough with emotion. When the nineteen year old looked up at him, Jason continued. "Kim and Tommy have been through a lot, this is just another bump in the road. She's a fighter, she's going to make it through this."

All of the side conversations stopped when Tommy was wheeled into the room in a wheelchair. "All right, one of you had better tell me what's up with Anton, Trent and Kim," Tommy growled.

Kat and Jason slowly moved to kneel next to Tommy's chair. "Trent and Anton are gonna be laid up for a while yet. Dana said Trent was pretty lucky; his Ranger powers will help him recover. Anton isn't so lucky, but he's none the worse for wear," Kat spoke, knowing Jason should be the one to break the news to Tommy about Kim.

Tommy nodded. "What about Kim?" The Room went eerily silent. "Jason?"

Jason took a deep breath. "It's bad, Tommy," he started.

The look on Tommy's face made each of the others pale. "How bad?"

"She's pretty banged up," Jason started again. "Her heart stopped..."

"NO!" Tommy hollered.

Jason motioned for him to calm down. "They managed to restart it. She's alive, but she's in a coma, and Dana said they don't know when...or if...she'll come out of it."

The group of gathered Power Rangers watched as Jason's words sunk in to Tommy's mind and heart. "Oh God." Tommy's eyes closed as tears trickled down his face. "I want to see her."

Dana moved from Carter's side to kneel with the others in front of Tommy. "She's still in surgery. They were finishing up with the stitches when I came out," Dana told him, watching his face crumble. Slowly, Dana moved to step back as Tommy's friends and students rallied around him.

* * *

"You still haven't left yet, have you?" T.J.'s voice pulled Tommy from his near exhausted sleep.

"I'm not leaving until she wakes up," Tommy stubbornly replied as T.J. sighed.

"What happens if she never wakes up?" T.J. asked, receiving a death glare from his Red predecessor. "Tommy, you have to face the possibility that she may never get out of this bed."

A sudden familiar beeping noise interrupted the conversation. "Go ahead Hayley."

"We've found it. Kira, Conner and Ethan are on their way with it."

"Good. Tommy out."

* * *

Conner, Kira and Ethan trudged their way from the hospital entrance, through the new and improved security checkpoints that had been created by Kim's stay in the hospital - it's not everyday a America's Gymnastics Sweetheart landed in the hospital beat to hell - and up to the room where Kim had been moved after she was released from intensive care. When the trio walked in, T.J. and Tommy were talking quietly next to Kim's bed. "Well?" Tommy asked them.

"We felt weird going through her things," Ethan muttered as Kira purposefully strode forward, thrusting the bad she held at her teacher and fellow Ranger.

"They sent me in. Both items requested are in there," Kira murmured as Tommy nodded.

"Thanks guys," Tommy spoke, taking the silver and pink communicator from the bad and placing it around Kim's wrist before pulling out the small, white Teddy Bear - the same he'd given her the last time she'd been stuck in the hospital - and tucked it in her arms.

After nearly a week in the hospital, Kimberly still hadn't woken up. Both of the breaks to her collarbone hadn't been as bad as originally thought - the fractures were hairline ones that had healed rather quickly. Most of the cuts and bruises were gone as well. Tommy sighed. She'd been damn lucky to have the power backing her up during the fight and for her recovery; otherwise she'd have probably died.

"Did you find the other thing I asked you to look for?" Tommy asked the trio.

"Trent left this morning with Alyssa, Danny, Lucas, Wes and Carter to search for it," Conner informed the two older Rangers, who nodded.

"Then all we can do now, is wait," T.J. spoke as all eyes went to Kimberly's still form.


	10. Epilogue: Calling All Rangers

This is it, peeps. The end of Ranger Games. Thanks to everyone who reviewed or emailed, it's been cool.

Be on the look out for other works by me, including the all new saga, The Return Of The Great Power, which should be hitting the net by the end of the summer, real life permitting.

Ranger Games: A Dino Thunder Reunion

Epilogue - Calling All Rangers

By: Pink-Green-White-4ever

Last Revised: June 16, 2004

Email: see profile

Website: see profile

Beta-Read By: Lessa Solarem and Jang the DEFENDER

* * *

"We were right about here," Trent spoke as the six Rangers stood in the crumbling room where the battle had taken place nearly a week past. The wall that had separated the room from the one Kimberly had emerged from had been blown away by the blast. There was an imprint on the far wall where the Ninjetti powers had slammed Mesogog into the brick. Trent looked around and felt his stomach turn. He and his father had forced the Rangers to do this, and four of them had nearly died because of it. 'Hell, Kim's still fighting for her life as it is!' he scolded himself.

"What are we looking for?" Wes questioned as the group fanned out around the room.

"The band that contains Kim's Dino Gem and Morpher," Carter explained as Trent held his out for them to see. "Start looking."

A half hour later, Alyssa cried out in triumph. "Found it!" The five guys moved to gather around the White Wild Force Ranger who was holding the wristband with the pale pink Dino Gem on it.

"Lets get this back to Kim," Lucas spoke as the six made their way back into the hall and down to where the invisi-portal had been left open for them by Hayley and Anton.

* * *

"We found it!" Alyssa called out as the six dashed down the hallway toward Kim's room at the hospital. All of the others, with the exception of Tommy, Jason, Zack, Billy and Trini were waiting for them as they slid to a stop. Silently, Alyssa handed Aisha the band and stepped back, watching as Aisha, Rocky, Adam, Kat, Tanya and Justin rushed into Kim's room.

* * *

"All right, Beautiful," Tommy whispered. "I'm gonna catch a nap. The others went back to my house and Anton's for the night. We're all still here when you're ready to wake up." That said, Tommy drifted off to sleep.

Hours later, just as the sun was rising, bathing the room in bright light, Tommy felt a gentle caress on his cheek. Pulling himself from dreams of Kimberly, chocolate brown opened and met chocolate brown. "Kim?" Tommy croaked.

Kim stood awkwardly in her hospital gown, with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, and a very confused look on her face. "Tommy, where am I?"

Kim blinked in surprise as Tommy jumped up, wrapping his arms around her. "Kim?" he whimpered as he crushed her to him, heedless of her injuries.

"Tommy, what happened? Where am I?" Kim frantically asked while he nestled her head under his chin.

"You don't remember what happened?"

Kim sighed. "The last thing I remember is the fight with that walking tin can at the High School."

Tommy winced. Kim had lost nearly a week's worth of memories, and to make matters worse, she's been in a coma for nearly a week and a half. "Kim, do you remember becoming the Pink Dino Thunder Ranger? Don't you remember Tanya and Justin trying to save you?" Tommy carefully asked, pulling back to look at her face as she thought about what he was saying.

Kim looked up at him, her eyes welling. "Oh GOD!" she cried softly, watching Tommy's eyes mist over in tears. Silently, Tommy pulled her close and held her while the floodgates opened. Suddenly, everything that had happened to her while she was under Mesogog's control came rushing back in a torrent that had her reeling as she attempted to sort out the memories.

An indefinite time later, Tommy sat back down in his chair, with Kim sitting on his lap, tucked safely in his arms. Her body wracking sobs had quieted down to sniffles. "Everyone's okay, aren't they?" she asked when Tommy pecked a kiss to her temple.

"Yeah. Trent, Anton and I healed pretty fast. Jason's ankle is pretty much back to normal and everyone else survived with a few scrapes and bruises."

Kim nodded and snuggled back under his chin. "Tommy, I'm so sorry. I always seem to put you through so much!" she cried softly.

Tommy rocked her back and forth, attempting to calm her down. "I'm only so thankful you're ok." The tremor in his voice made Kim's heart throb in anguish. "God, Kim, I was so scared I was gonna loose you!"

"Tommy, I'm sorry."

"DON'T APOLOGIZE!" Tommy commanded, then toned down his voice when he saw her wincing from the harsh sound. "It's not like you did it on purpose. Besides, you tried saving all of us, just like you always do," Tommy reminded her.

Kim's mind still felt the punch of power that she and Katherine had summoned. It had been that last minute addition that had helped the others turn Mesogog back into Anton Mercer.

The knock on the door startled the pair out of their world for two. "Come in!" Tommy called.

Jason's head poked in. "Hey Tommy...KIM!"

Kim's face broke out into a huge grin when Jason shot into the room, followed by Trini, Zack and Billy.

"Hey guys!" Kim laughed when the three boys wrapped her in happy hugs.

Trini finally pushed them all aside before she proceeded to smother her best friend in a bone-crushing hug. "When did you wake up?"

Kim smiled again. "About an hour ago. Tommy still hasn't called to tell the doctors I'm up."

Zack laughed. "Gosh Kimmie!" When Kim's attention was on her black and white dressed friend, he continued. "You sure know how to get into all sorts of trouble, with or without a power coin, huh?"

The group collectively rolled their eyes at him. "How do you feel?" Billy asked softly, receiving a brilliant smile from his pink friend.

"Other than feeling extremely guilty about putting you all through hell yet again, I'm just peachy."

Ignoring her comment, Jason spoke. "We should tell the others, and call the doctor." Jason received eye rolls and groans from his friends at his suggestion.

* * *

"Boy, are we glad you're awake!" Aisha gushed as she, Rocky, Adam, Kat, Tanya and Justin visited with Kim later that afternoon. They had brought magazines, c.d.s, balloons, cards, board games, the works to keep her entertained during her waking hours.

"Me too. Thanks for saving me ass, yet again," Kim laughed. The others shrugged it off and smiled. A knock at the door shifted all of their attention to Jason.

With a guilty grin, Jason spoke. "The others would like to come in and visit."

Kim nodded. "Guess that's our cue to split," Rocky laughed as he bent down and gave Kim a hug, Tanya, Kat, and Justin following suit.

Adam looked at Kim seriously after he pulled back from giving her a hug. "You are going to make the goodbye party at Anton's, right?"

Kim smiled at him after giving Aisha a hug. "You know I wouldn't miss that for the world. See you guys later!"

* * *

"What's going on?" Kim asked a few days later as Tommy and the others wheeled her into the arena.

"It's the goodbye party for all of the Rangers," Anton spoke, watching as Kim flinched slightly. He knew she still wasn't use to him being what you would call 'normal'. "It's the least I could do after everything I put you all through. The others should be here soon."

Kim looked up at Tommy in confusion. "Others?"

Tommy smiled and nodded. "The other teams are coming to pick up their missing Rangers. We're going to get to meet everyone." Almost as soon as the words left Tommy's mouth, a rumbling could be heard as the top of the arena opened and three ships set down on the field. Once the noise from the ships had ceased, a yellow hummer, a red jeep, and a white van could be seen entering the arena through a bay door at the end opposite where the Rangers stood.

Zordon's original Rangers watched on as everyone one of their Earthling successors walked off or out of the vehicles they'd arrived in. Slowly, each pair of Rangers who'd been kidnapped made their ways back to their teams and then stood before the original twelve. "Tommy, Jason," the young man in gray and red spoke as he strode forward.

"Andros," the two older men addressed him.

"Can I have everyone's attention?" Tommy called over the hum of side conversations and reunions. "I'm sure you're missing Rangers will fill you in on what happened to them, but I'd like to introduce everyone if that's ok."

Each group of Rangers nodded their agreement. "My name is Tommy. I'm the original Green and White Morphin' Rangers, the Red Zeo Ranger, the first Red Turbo Ranger, and currently the Black Dino Thunder Ranger. And these are my teams," Tommy motioned to the group of fifteen Rangers standing, or in Kim's case sitting, behind him. "This is Jason, original Red Morphin and the second Gold Zeo; Trini, original Yellow Morphin'; Zack, Black Morphin' 1; Billy, Blue Morphin'." Tommy introduced most of the original team, winking at Kim when she pouted at being forgotten.

"This is Aisha, Yellow Morphin' 2; Rocky, Red Morphin' 2 and Blue Zeo; Katherine, Pink Morphin' 2, Pink Zeo, and Pink Turbo 1; Tanya, Yellow Zeo and Turbo 1; Justin, Blue Turbo; Adam, Black Morphin' 2, Green Zeo and Turbo 1; Kira, Dino Thunder Yellow; Ethan, Dino Thunder Blue; Conner, Red Dino Thunder; Trent, White Dino Thunder, and Kimberly, Original Pink Morphin' and Pink Dino Thunder."

The other teams looked on in awe. Standing before them were the original twelve Rangers as well as the newest. "We're the Turbo 2 and Space Rangers team," Carlos laughed. "I'm Carlos, Green Turbo 2 and Black Space. This is T.J. - Red Turbo 2 and Blue Space; Cassie - Pink Turbo 2 and Space; Ashley - Yellow Turbo 2 and Space; Andros - Red Space; and Zhane - Silver Space."

"I'm Leo, Red Galaxy. This is Kai - Blue, Damon - Green, Maya - Yellow, Kendrix - Pink, and Magma Defender, Mike." The others nodded and watched as Carter strode forward.

"I'm Carter, Red Ranger, Lightspeed Rescue. This is Dana - Pink, Kelsey - Yellow, Chad - Blue, Joel - Green, and the Titanium Ranger, Ryan."

Wes and Lucas cracked up laughing as they both stepped forward. "I'm Wes, Red Ranger, Time Force. This is Eric, Quantum Ranger, Time Force," Wes introduced his friend and then smiled when Lucas motioned to the others.

"I'm Lucas, Blue Ranger, Time Force. This is Jen - Pink, Katie - Yellow, and Trip - Green."

Alyssa rolled her eyes and pushed Cole forward when she realized he had no clue it was his turn. "I'm Cole, Wild Force Red. This is Taylor - Yellow, Max - Blue, Alyssa - White, Danny - Black, and the Lunar Wolf - Merrick."

Tori and Dustin snickered as Shane made his way toward the center of what had become the circle of Rangers as they introduced themselves. "Shane, Red Ranger, Ninja Storm. This is Tori - Blue, Dustin - Yellow, Cam - Green, Hunter - Crimson, and Blake - Navy."

Slowly, Kimberly stood from her chair and made her way to the center of the circle, her eyes meeting with each pair of Rangers that had been stuck with her and her friends on this wild adventure. "I'm sorry you all got dragged into this, but I think despite all the bad things that happened, this is the best thing that happened; we'd have never gotten to meet each other if all of you who were kidnapped hadn't been. Thank you, for everything."

The Dino Thunder Rangers and the original twelve watched as one by one, each team exited the building. When the others were finally gone, the private goodbyes began. "I'm gonna miss having you guys around," Ethan told them as he shook hands and hugged each of the original twelve, with the exception of Tommy and Kim. "Thanks for coming and saving our butts."

"It's been nice having you all here," Kira started as she gave each of them hugs. "Don't be shy, come back and visit often."

Conner shook hands with the guys, gave the girls hugs, and then took his place with his team again. "It's been fun. Thanks for coming."

Trent swallowed and then strode forward, stopping just in front of the ten that were leaving. "Thank you, for helping my dad, for helping me. It's nice to know that the original Power Rangers approve of us newbies," Trent murmured then turned and joined his friends. At Conner's nod, the four turned and left the arena with Anton.

"Guess this is it, huh?" Justin muttered as the group of twelve gathered together. Hugs were shared, as were words of goodbye.

"Ok, so we're all into this? Next reunion in Angel Grove, right?" Rocky quipped, eliciting smiles and laughter from the others.

"We're in," Zack gave him the double thumbs up.

Billy smiled sadly. "The limos are here."

Another round of quick hugs and Tommy and Kim stood there and watched their friends get into the limos Anton had provided for the journey to the airport. "You ok?" Tommy asked as he helped Kim back into her wheelchair.

Kim sniffled and wiped away the tears that had managed to find a path down her cheeks. "No. I miss them already."

Tommy smiled and watched the bay doors close at the other end of the arena once the limos were gone. "Yeah, me too."

* * *

"What a rough couple of weeks," Conner muttered as he, Kira, Ethan and Trent collapsed onto Tommy's couch, propping their feet up on the coffee table despite the looks their teacher was giving them.

"It wasn't that bad, was it?" Trent queried. He hadn't heard about their adventure much more than when he was involved.

"Trent," Kira started. She was sitting between him and Conner, hoping to avoid the bickering she was sure would ensue at any moment. Kim had been kind enough to explain a few things to her over the last couple of days regarding Conner and Trent, and their feelings toward Kira.

"Sorry."

Ethan shook his head. "So, Kim, what are you gonna be doing now that you're out of the hospital?" All eyes turned toward the Pink Ranger.

Kim shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not sure. Tommy and I both agreed that I should hang around a while longer until I'm almost a hindered percent better, but I need to get back to Florida, and my training eventually," Kim started, watching four faces fall. She didn't even dare look over at Tommy, who was standing in the archway leading to the kitchen. "Without the threat of Mesogog breathing down your necks, you really don't need me hanging around."

"Don't need but want," Kira informed her, causing Kim to smile. It was nice to feel wanted.

"Besides," Ethan started. "If you leave, Dr. O's gonna go all grumpy teacher on us again."

"HEY!" Tommy protested.

Kim and the others laughed. "We'll see," Kim smiled at the younger Ranger. "It's up to your teacher how long he wants me to stay."

"How does forever sound to you?" Tommy asked. Kim turned to face him, to see if he was just joking or if he was as serious as his voice sounded.

"Are you serious?"

Tommy looked at her, his expression pure steel. "Dead serious."

The four teenagers watched the exchange between their teacher and his girlfriend in silent awe. "I've got a hundred bucks that says we're gonna be helping plan a wedding and Ranger Reunion before summer's out," Trent smirked.

Conner and Ethan laughed while Kira's face went serious. "Sorry, I don't bet when I know I'm gonna loose." Kira's comment had the four teenagers cracking up, all the while Tommy and Kim were oblivious to the conversation.

* * *

You are cordially invited to join

Kimberly Ann Hart

and

Thomas James Oliver

On October 16, 2004 as they celebrate

their wedding vows in Reefside, California


End file.
